Woman Facing 6 Charges After Booze-Fueled Joyride: Warrant

VERNON, CT — A 35-year-old Vernon woman is facing a half-dozen criminal charges for allegedly serving booze to a carload of people — including at least one underage girl who complained about being groped during the joyride, a warrant indicates.

Erin Culvey was arrested on Aug. 18 for the June incident. She was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a child, illegally distributing liquor to a minor, drinking while driving, interfering with police and providing a false statement, according to an arrest report. She is due in court on Aug. 28, according to the report.

An accompanying warrant shows the case began as an investigation into a possible sexual assault in June 24, when the 16-year-old girl and her mother went to the Vernon Police Department. The incident took place during the previous night, police said. It began with a "party" at Henry Park from about 5 to 7:30 p.m., continued with drinks being served in Culvey's car and wound up involving a bottle being passed around after a pit stop at a local package store, according to a warrant. The group eventually went to Culvey's house, according to a warrant.

One of Culvey's passengers was "a teenage male that she did not know," and the 16-year-old girl told police she had passed out, but woke up to him touching her, according to a warrant. The girl estimated she drank about half a "medium-sized" bottle of what she thought was flavored vodka, according to a warrant.

Culvey denied any wrongdoing, but she was captured on surveillance buying several bottles of alcohol at the Drive-In Package Store in the Rockville section of Vernon and and records show the girl was taken by ambulance to Rockville General Hospital from Culvey's home in Vernon, a warrant states.

The girl did not want to press charges against the boy, but her mother asked police to investigate the entire night's activities, according to a warrant.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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