BY MATTHEW KEMENY
STAFF WRITER
A Scranton couple and an Olyphant woman have been charged with corruption of minors after police say they videotaped a 2-year-old girl drinking shots of tequila and smoking cigarettes, because they “thought it would be funny.”
According to an affidavit filed Thursday:
The 30-second video, turned in to Lackawanna County Children and Youth Services, shows Kenneth Watkins, 40, of 135 W. Market St., holding the toddler on his lap while she smokes a cigarette. It then shows Mr. Watkins’ girlfriend, Jessica O’Donnell, 22, of 556 Kennedy St., hand the girl a shot glass and encourage her to drink tequila.
The girl took two or three sips of the liquor, county Detective Chris Kolcharno said.
“She made a sour face after she sipped it,” he said, adding that the girl was examined by medical personnel at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania and found to be OK.
Laughing can be heard in the background, and Mr. Watkins can be seen coaching the girl to say obscenities to the camera. Voices are heard asking her, “Are you drunk yet?”
County Detectives Kolcharno and Michelle Mancuso and Scranton police Detective Vince Uher interviewed the couple and played the tape for them.
“Once they saw the videotape, there was no denying it,” Detective Kolcharno said. “They tried to play it off like they thought it would be funny. Obviously, it wasn’t.”
Since Children and Youth Services is generally tight-lipped about their sources, it’s unclear who turned in the tape. Authorities do not believe it was distributed or posted on the Internet, Detective Kolcharno said.
Mr. Watkins and Ms. O’Donnell are charged with misdemeanor counts of corruption of a minor and reckless endangerment. Ms. O’Donnell faces an additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child, also a misdemeanor.
Wendy Watkins, 29, of 116 S. Valley Ave., Apt. 1, Olyphant, is charged with corruption of minors and reckless endangerment for teaching the girl how to smoke and videotaping the incident, which took place at her residence.
The three were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James Kennedy and sent to Lackawanna County Prison. Bail was set at $40,000 a piece.
STAFF WRITER
A Scranton couple and an Olyphant woman have been charged with corruption of minors after police say they videotaped a 2-year-old girl drinking shots of tequila and smoking cigarettes, because they “thought it would be funny.”
According to an affidavit filed Thursday:
The 30-second video, turned in to Lackawanna County Children and Youth Services, shows Kenneth Watkins, 40, of 135 W. Market St., holding the toddler on his lap while she smokes a cigarette. It then shows Mr. Watkins’ girlfriend, Jessica O’Donnell, 22, of 556 Kennedy St., hand the girl a shot glass and encourage her to drink tequila.
The girl took two or three sips of the liquor, county Detective Chris Kolcharno said.
“She made a sour face after she sipped it,” he said, adding that the girl was examined by medical personnel at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania and found to be OK.
Laughing can be heard in the background, and Mr. Watkins can be seen coaching the girl to say obscenities to the camera. Voices are heard asking her, “Are you drunk yet?”
County Detectives Kolcharno and Michelle Mancuso and Scranton police Detective Vince Uher interviewed the couple and played the tape for them.
“Once they saw the videotape, there was no denying it,” Detective Kolcharno said. “They tried to play it off like they thought it would be funny. Obviously, it wasn’t.”
Since Children and Youth Services is generally tight-lipped about their sources, it’s unclear who turned in the tape. Authorities do not believe it was distributed or posted on the Internet, Detective Kolcharno said.
Mr. Watkins and Ms. O’Donnell are charged with misdemeanor counts of corruption of a minor and reckless endangerment. Ms. O’Donnell faces an additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child, also a misdemeanor.
Wendy Watkins, 29, of 116 S. Valley Ave., Apt. 1, Olyphant, is charged with corruption of minors and reckless endangerment for teaching the girl how to smoke and videotaping the incident, which took place at her residence.
The three were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James Kennedy and sent to Lackawanna County Prison. Bail was set at $40,000 a piece.
