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Kansas City Woman Forces Minors to Drink Alcohol

In late February of this year, Kansas City police officials arrived at the 1600 block of 55th Terrace, and they thought they were handling a routine noise complaint.  But instead, they found a group of heavily intoxicated pre-teen girls.

The tragic twist to this story is that the girls did not sneak in the alcohol, nor were they home alone.  The girls were actually accompanied by two adults: Karen Downs and Kelsee Guest.  These two women were the hosts of this party, and they did in fact purchase and supply each one of the six minors with alcohol.  The girls ranged between the ages of 13 to 14.

Maybe you're asking youself, "Why is this case so significant?  Lots of parents illegally supply alcohol to minors?"  First of all, supplying minors with alcohol is illegal.  Alcohol can take a hard toll on teenage bodies which are still developing.  Equally important is the undisputed fact that minors are still developing mentally, and exposure to alcohol can inhibit their intellectual capabilities as well as place them at a higher risk for substance abuse and alcoholism.

Another facet that makes this story so unfortunate is that the adults were forcing the girls to drink.  Some of the girls alleged that Downs was putting pressure on them to drink.  Downs even went so far as to dare each of the girls to chug an entire glass of vodka, and whoever drank the fastest would receive ten dollars.   

The Prosecutor for Platte County, Eric Zahnd, stated that he found it "shocking that a mother would push" these pre-teen girls so far.  Zahnd also pointed out that the level of drinking these children engaged in would be considered "dangerous even at a college fraternity party." 

The drinking almost did prove dangerous.  When police arrived, they found one girl passed out.  They took this girl and one of the girls who did chug a glass of vodka to the hospital to be checked for alcohol poisoning.  When the police searched the basement where the party occurred, they discovered seventy bottles of beer along with various bourbon and vodka containers strewn across the area in which the girls were drinking. 

But when the first round of vodka ran out, the two adult women did not stop.  They allegedly asked and obtained more "drinking money" from an unspecified minor to leave their home and purchase more vodka.

At this point, Downs has pled guilty and is to be sentenced on the 8th of July.  Prosecutor Zahnd has reported that he will be requesting as much time in jail as the charge permits.  The charge is child endangerment, which the other adult, Kelsee Guest, is also being charged with.  Her trial date is set for late October. 

Alcohol poisoning can be fatal, especially when it is inflicted on minors.  This is an incidence where two adults were trusted with the lives and well-being of six little girls, and then proceeded to endanger them.  Fortunately, each one of the girls is fine, but if there are any long term effects they will not emerge until much later.  The attorneys and staff at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys urge you to talk to your children about situations like this one.  Your influence is the first preventive step.  But if your child should cross paths with an unfortunate event such as this one, and you need help, give our law office a call.

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