Teh One Who Knocks
05-05-2017, 12:49 PM
Laurie Mason Schroeder - The Morning Call
http://i.imgur.com/9qqtbrR.jpg
An Allentown couple who allowed their 13-year-old daughter to celebrate her birthday by doing shots of vodka pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges Wednesday in Lehigh County Court.
Charles Younger Jr., 39, and Michelle Edwards, 32, will be sentenced next month and could each serve more than a year in the county jail.
Their daughter consumed up to 10 shots of vodka and was airlifted to a hospital after a drinking party at their home with a blood-alcohol level of .32 percent — four times the legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania.
The couple fled when a friend called 911 after finding the girl unconscious and vomiting, Assistant District Attorney Sarah Heimbach said. The mother later posted about the crime on Facebook.
"Her post said that the incident was a wake-up call and she'll never do anything again to break the law," Heimbach said.
According to a news release from Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin:
Around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 7, police were called to the couple's Union Boulevard home for an unconscious 13-year-old girl. Police said Younger and Edwards weren't home when paramedics and police arrived.
The girl was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital then flown by helicopter to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Authorities said a 15-year-old girl at the home also drank alcohol provided by Younger. The girl told police she saw the younger girl drink "at least 10 shots of vodka within a two-hour time frame."
Heimbach said Edwards took the 13-year-old girl to the liquor store to buy the vodka, and Younger paid for the booze and provided orange juice to make mixed drinks.
Edwards told Judge James T. Anthony that she was in the basement of the home while Younger was drinking with the girls. She said she didn't expect the girl to drink 10 shots, just "maybe a little bit" of vodka.
Younger, who also pleaded guilty to corruption of minors, told Anthony that he fled because he was scared.
"When I heard the sirens I just panicked," he said.
Both parents admitted to the judge that they did not seek medical help for their daughter.
Heimbach said the teen spent two days in the hospital and has fully recovered. Edwards remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing; Younger is in Lehigh County Jail under $20,000 bail.
http://i.imgur.com/9qqtbrR.jpg
An Allentown couple who allowed their 13-year-old daughter to celebrate her birthday by doing shots of vodka pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges Wednesday in Lehigh County Court.
Charles Younger Jr., 39, and Michelle Edwards, 32, will be sentenced next month and could each serve more than a year in the county jail.
Their daughter consumed up to 10 shots of vodka and was airlifted to a hospital after a drinking party at their home with a blood-alcohol level of .32 percent — four times the legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania.
The couple fled when a friend called 911 after finding the girl unconscious and vomiting, Assistant District Attorney Sarah Heimbach said. The mother later posted about the crime on Facebook.
"Her post said that the incident was a wake-up call and she'll never do anything again to break the law," Heimbach said.
According to a news release from Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin:
Around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 7, police were called to the couple's Union Boulevard home for an unconscious 13-year-old girl. Police said Younger and Edwards weren't home when paramedics and police arrived.
The girl was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital then flown by helicopter to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Authorities said a 15-year-old girl at the home also drank alcohol provided by Younger. The girl told police she saw the younger girl drink "at least 10 shots of vodka within a two-hour time frame."
Heimbach said Edwards took the 13-year-old girl to the liquor store to buy the vodka, and Younger paid for the booze and provided orange juice to make mixed drinks.
Edwards told Judge James T. Anthony that she was in the basement of the home while Younger was drinking with the girls. She said she didn't expect the girl to drink 10 shots, just "maybe a little bit" of vodka.
Younger, who also pleaded guilty to corruption of minors, told Anthony that he fled because he was scared.
"When I heard the sirens I just panicked," he said.
Both parents admitted to the judge that they did not seek medical help for their daughter.
Heimbach said the teen spent two days in the hospital and has fully recovered. Edwards remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing; Younger is in Lehigh County Jail under $20,000 bail.