The Summit County Attorney’s Office has come to a plea agreement with a man who was arrested a year and a half ago for attacking a teenager at a Park City ski resort.
The defendant has been given two years probation. The sentence was handed down on March 1 to 41-year-old Marcelo Pablo Jose Portomene. The County Attorney’s Office reported he is a resident of Argentina and was working in Park City when he was arrested on Nov. 27 of 2019, just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The charging documents say that the victim, a 17-year-old girl identified as A.E., was skiing and stopped to wait for some friends. Portomene approached and started yelling at her, then grabbed her neck and squeezed it, forcing her to the ground.
He continued choking her until he was pulled off by a third party.
In an email, Deputy County Prosecutor Blake Hills said the defendant and the victim didn’t know each other and that he would not provide the perpetrator’s motive.
“There is no excuse for what he did, and I am not going to give him an excuse by providing any reason for what he did,” Hills said.
Under the plea agreement, the original charge of child abuse was reduced from a second-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.
Third District Judge Richard Mrazik suspended a jail sentence of 364 days and gave Portomene probation for 24 months. It is expected the county will ask for restitution.
The victim was a Summit County resident at the time. According to Hills, her mother said it was very important to them that they not see Portomene during his probation.
The probation says that he is not to return to Summit County or have any direct or indirect contact with the victim for the two years.
