Mom served alcohol to underage partiers; now she'll serve time in jail

The woman thought the teens would be safer drinking where she could keep an eye on their behavior.
By Daniela Deane, Washington Post
Last update: June 09, 2007 – 5:37 PM




CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - Ryan Kenty, 20, and his brother Brandon, a sophomore in high school, plan to drive their mother to jail Monday morning.Elisa Kelly, and her ex-husband, George Robinson, are paying the price for hosting Ryan's 16th birthday party -- more than two years in jail each. Ryan had asked his mother to buy his friends some beer and wine, as long as they all spent the night.
"No one left the party," said Kelly, 42, who collected car keys that night almost five years ago to prevent anyone from leaving. "No one was hurt. No one drove anywhere. I really don't think I deserve to go to jail for this long."
But Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney James L. Camblos III, who prosecuted the parents, said it was the worst case of underage drinking he has ever seen. "Not only were they serving alcohol to 15- and 16-year-olds, they misled parents who called to ask about alcohol, and they tried to get the kids to cover it up after police got there," Camblos said.
In this season of senior proms and graduation parties, the story is a cautionary tale for parents who plan to serve alcohol -- or look the other way. Although 27-month sentences are rare, parents are increasingly being held criminally responsible for underage drinking under their roofs, even if they are not aware that it is going on.
"In a lot of cases, the parents are the problem," said Diane Eckert, a prevention specialist in the Safe and Drug-Free Youth section of Fairfax County, Va., schools. "A lot of our parents were able to drink when they were 18, and we're in a culture that endorses drinking as a rite of passage."
Kelly and Robinson -- the boys' stepfather -- were charged with nine misdemeanor counts each of contributing to the delinquency of a minor resulting from the August 2002 backyard birthday bash. Both were sentenced to eight years, but those sentences were reduced to 27 months.
Robinson's attorney, Jonathan Wren, called the jail time the "harshest sentence of its kind by a long shot." Wren said his client declined to comment.
"I made a big mistake. I know that," Kelly, a stay-at-home mother, said last week. "I am so sorry."
Kelly said she believed the kids were going to drink regardless and reasoned that supplying the alcohol and keeping them home would be safer. She called the punishment harsh, excessive and politically motivated. "I'm not a hardened criminal," said the woman, who has never had even a parking infraction. "I'm just a mom."
Camblos, who has made curbing underage drinking part of this year's reelection campaign, denied any politics: "I've seen too many photographs of teenagers being killed in car wrecks because of drinking and driving."
Kelly said the "nightmare mess" has been very hard on her elder son. She said Ryan is shouldering deep guilt about his sports-coaching mother, whom he calls the "best mom in the world," having to serve time for something he's still convinced was his fault.
"I wish I could go to jail for her," he said last week, his eyes welling up.
After the incident, Ryan dropped out of high school, saying he couldn't take the constant attention. He shelved plans to attend college and now works full time at UPS. The brothers will live nearby with their father, Marc Kenty, until their mother is released.
"You'll see, Mom, I'm going to have a house for us by the time you get out," he said last week. "And I'm going to take good care of Brandon."Not one minute of guilt, though, right?" Kelly asked her son, her arm draped on his big shoulder. "Like we've talked about."
He answered, looking down, "OK, Mom, OK."

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I am not sure they deserve 27 months, but they definitley some time. Hopefully it will send a message to other parents. I know some parents (did not know it at the time) who provided my dd alcohol starting at age 13!! It lead to years of alcohol and drug addiction. I wish I would have known then, what I know now, I would have prosecuted them!

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~Happiness is a large family~

It does seem a bit harsh of a sentence but if some parent knowingly gave my 16 yr old alcohol without my permission I'd beat them with a stick. I think it's ironic she said "well they're going to do it anyway". With parents like them that's probably true. Ughhh....should need a license to parent.

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I agree, it seems a bit harsh, but they should not be letting the kids drink. Sounds like they are making an example out of them.