Olympic show jumper Rich Fellers has been sentenced to 50 months in prison and five years of supervision following his conviction for sexual abuse of his underage student Maggie Kehring. Fellers changed his original plea from not guilty to guilty as part of an agreement to spend time in federal prison. He will be included in both federal and state sex offender lists.
Maggie Kehring came forward to share her experience and has since helped found #WeRideTogether, an organization aimed at stopping sexual abuse in equestrian sports. During the trial, the backlash in the equestrian world against Kehring was highlighted. She said, "He was larger than life to me as a child with unquestionable ethics, but he manipulated my trust in him to abuse me."
Fellers initially indicated he wanted to apologize, but later reversed that decision because what he had done would have caused too much suffering. Fellers must also undergo mandatory treatment for the sex offenses.
Source: The chronicle of the horse