JURY ACQUITS CARTISANO OF ALL CHARGES

Veronica Nelson

The Deseret News

"I am one happy dude," Stephen Cartisano said after being acquitted of negligent homicide and child-abuse charges.

The jury took 6 1/2 hours to find Cartisano not guilty on five misdemeanor child-abuse charges and one negligent-homicide charge.

"I was always confident that once we got this case out of the state and the media and into a court of law I would be cleared of all allegations," said Cartisano, 36, founder of the now-defunct Challenger wilderness therapy program.

"I'm going to go home, hug my children, hug my wife and sleep for three days," he said. "Now I can get back to taking care of my family. For the first time in two years, I'm not going to have this hanging over me."

The homicide charge stemmed from the death June 27, 1990, of Kristen Chase of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Chase collapsed and died while hiking in 90-degree heat on 6,000-foot Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah while enrolled in Challenger.

Although elated over the verdict, Cartisano expressed regret about Chase's death.

"I wished we could have gotten to her sooner," he said. "All of our hearts go out to her mother and stepfather and family, but it doesn't bring Kristen back."

Chase's mother, Sharon Fuqua, moved to Malta a year ago because of her husband's work and did not return for the trial. However, during a telephone conversation, she expressed surprise at Cartisano's acquittal, especially on the negligent homicide charge.

"That's amazing," Fuqua said. "I don't think (Cartisano) is an evil man, and I don't think he's done anything intentionally, but I've felt all along that if Cartisano got off scot-free, then the same mistakes would happen again.

"Kristen was a very sweet girl," she said. "She was a girl who had an identity crisis, and she needed help. They promised they would help."

Fuqua feels that the Challenger program did not have adequate emergency resources. "When it became obvious Kristen was very, very ill, the kids were too far away from help," she said. "I think Steve Cartisano was negligent in that respect. He wasn't prepared."

Fuqua wanted to return for Cartisano's trial but was advised against it by her doctor.

"It was a very difficult decision to make," she said. "My being there wouldn't have changed the facts the jury heard, but it would have brought some emotion to those facts."

"For a long time, I wasn't able to do anything," Fuqua said. "I felt useless. I could hardly say my daughter's name without crying. There hasn't been a day that I haven't gone over every detail of what happened. It never leaves me.

"I don't believe these wilderness programs are all bad, but the basic boot-camp philosophy is wrong. We have to ask ourselves how we can change these programs. Hopefully, telling Kris' story will make a difference."

Fuqua has recently started a Maltese branch of Compassionate Friends, an international group for parents who have lost children.

"I've got to get on with my life. I have no choice," she said. "But the memory of Kristen's death will always be there."

Cartisano, meanwhile, is looking for a job.

"Economically, I've been destroyed," he said. "I've been vindicated, but who will put a roof over my children's head? I haven't been able to work. Who wants to hire someone facing charges of murder and child abuse?"

Cartisano, of Mapleton, said he has not ruled out the possibility of starting another wilderness program in Utah sometime in the future.