Abuse Hysteria in Maine

Abuse Hysteria in Maine

One night in April 2007, Ligia Filler was found running on the road partially undressed, screaming she was going to kill her husband for abusing their children. These allegations were known to be false. But allegations that her husband Vladek had sexually assaulted her soon escalated into criminal charges.

Despite the lack of any physical evidence, Assistant District Attorney Mary Kellett filed seven indictments of assault. The case was tried January 12-15, 2009. Mr. Filler was found guilty on three charges and innocent on four charges.

The case was appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. On September 9, 2010 the Court issued its decision, ordering a new trial and concluding that Keller had engaged in prosecutorial misconduct because she had “improperly encouraged the jury to use the absence of evidence regarding the marriage ending and a child custody dispute – evidence that had been excluded based on the State’s objection – as a reason to reject [defendant] Filler’s case.”

A new trial was held May 23-26, 2011 in Ellsworth Superior Court. This time Mr. Filler was exonerated on two additional charges. The remaining charge is currently being appealed.

Allegations of Prosecutorial Misconduct

Based on the September 9 findings of the Maine Supreme Court and on other information, SAVE and other groups filed Letters of Complaint with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, calling on the Board to revoke ADA Mary Kellett’s license.

Sign the petition:

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Campaign Progress

• Why This Campaign?
• Flyer: Mary Kellett: Prosecutor on a Mission
• Week 1 Alert
• Week 2 Alert
• Week 3 Alert
• Week 4 Alert: Rescind the Predominant Aggressor Policy

SAVE has sent a letter to Maine Criminal Justice Academy Director John B. Rogers calling on him to:

1. Rescind Maine’s predominant aggressor curriculum
2. Remove the document from the MCJA website

You can see the SAVE letter here: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/JohnRogersLtr4.12.2011.pdf Stop Abusive and Violent Environments has evaluated the factual claims in the MCJA predominant aggressor curriculum and has concluded that the training document contains numerous deficiencies including:

1. Of the 13 “What is Domestic Violence” statements, only one was found to be verifiable and true.
2. No scientific evidence is provided to support the seven predominant aggressor criteria.
3. The document features 10 vignettes of intimate partner altercations. In not a single case does the curriculum recommend arresting the female.

This document cannot be viewed as a credible law enforcement resource, indeed, it represents an unconscionable example of gender-profiling. SAVE is now calling on persons to contact MCJA Director John Rogers with a message like this:

“Because of the egregious biases found in the MCJA predominant aggressor curriculum, I am requesting that you immediately stop using it for training purposes, and that you remove it from the MCJA website.”

Here’s where you can make your respectful complaint:   E-mail: john.rogers@maine.gov Phone: 207-877-8000 And while you’re at it, send a copy of your message to Gov. Paul LePage: E-mail : governor@maine.gov Fax : 1-207-287-1034 Phone: 1-207-287-3531

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