A Park City man is facing charges after police say he attacked and choked a 17-year-old girl while she was skiing last month.
The girl was headed down a slope at Park City Mountain Resort on Nov. 27, said Park City Police Capt. Phil Kirk, when she pulled over to the side to wait for some friends. While stopped, a man approached her and began yelling.
It’s unclear if he knew the girl or what happened before the confrontation. He grabbed the girl’s neck, though, and “started squeezing,” according to a probable cause statement filed in court Friday. He then apparently shoved her to the ground while continuing to choke her.
The man stopped after a passerby pulled him off the girl.
Marcelo Pablo Jose Portomene, 40, was charged Friday with child abuse with the intention of inflicting serious injury, a second degree felony. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Kirk said the case has been referred to the Summit County Attorney’s Office, and he couldn’t answer more questions because it is under investigation. The office did not immediately return calls for comment, nor did Park City Mountain Resort’s spokeswoman.
