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NJ Beauty Queen Faces Criminal Charges for 10 Minors' Drinking

By George Khoury, Esq. on February 02, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The former Mrs. Bergen County, Soneca Guadara, is facing criminal charges as a result of an alcohol fueled party involving 10 minors, where she may not have even been present. When one minor was discovered drunk and passed out off the property in the neighborhood, police were called. Officers discovered nine additional juveniles at Guadara's home where alcohol was being served, and described the situation as the "standard kids getting together having alcohol party."

The 47-year-old former beauty queen lives in the suburbs of New Jersey and is now a fashion designer. It is likely that one of the former beauty queen's four children hosted a party and invited minor guests, but details on the incident are scant. What is known is that Guadara is facing criminal charges for nuisance, as well as "leaving property in custody of another where alcohol was being served to minors."

Also, while authorities assert that she was arrested, Guadara maintains that she was never arrested, charged, or even notified. Lastly, it was reported that the drunk minor found passed out was transported to the hospital, and that there are no other criminal charges being filed at this time.

Serving Alcohol to Minors Doesn't Require Serving

While most people are aware that serving alcohol to minors is illegal, many people don't realize that allowing a minor to serve themselves, or deliberating not noticing if they do, is also illegal. Parents can also be liable for their children serving alcohol to other minors at their home. Additionally, parents need to be aware of the fact that not properly supervising a party can lead to criminal charges for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Guadara is not the first parent to be arrested for this, and likely won't be the last. In fact, considering other arrests that make the news, hers hardly qualifies as shocking. A California father learned a hard lesson after being charged with 44 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor as a result of a party his high school aged child threw. He was charged with one count for each minor that was present at the party.

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