Woman Facing Endangerment Charges For Allegedly Caring For Children While Intoxicated

Harrisburg PA

14 May, 2022

9:18 PM

Description

By Melissa Farenish, NorthCentralPA.com May 14, 2022 When police conducted a welfare check at a Muncy woman's residence, they found her sitting on the kitchen floor in an extremely intoxicated state with a child in her care. The woman, Kristen R. Sander, 40, now faces felony child endangerment charges. Police and Lycoming County Children and Youth recently started an investigation into incidents in which Sander was allegedly drunk and unable to properly care for her children, according to court documents. The investigation dates back to October 2021 when Muncy Police were called to Sander's residence because she was allegedly intoxicated and fighting with her child, according to Patrolman Ernest Delp. Police were sent to the home again on Feb. 7 for a welfare check after a relative reported Sander was intoxicated while a child was in her care. Though Sander admitted she had been drinking that day, she was awake and supervising her child. Police did not see a reason to remove the child that day, Delp said in the affidavit. On March 30, police received a call from a childcare center in Muncy, saying Sander was appeared drunk when she arrived at the facility to pick up her child. Staff had watched her driving into the parking lot slowly, making wide turns and having issues parking her vehicle. Sander was unsteady when she walked into the building to sign out her child. Police responded and charged Sander with driving under the influence. Staff at the childcare center again called police on April 27 and told them there had been several incidents involving Sander, including a time when she came into the childcare center to sign out the child but forgot to take the child with her. Staff also noticed one day that the child had knotted hair. When they asked if she had brushed her hair, the child told them she hadn't bathed or brushed her hair in several days and her mom "doesn't make her", Delp wrote in the affidavit. Police, along with a Lycoming County Children and Youth caseworker, conducted welfare checks at Sander's residence on April 29 and May 7 and found her to be intoxicated both times. The children were sent to stay with relatives. After interviewing one of the children, the caseworker found out that Sander often got drunk and passed out, leaving the children unattended. The younger child had been making ramen noodles in the microwave because the mother was too drunk to cook, Delp wrote. By the time police and the caseworker checked in on Sander again on May 9, they found her sitting on the kitchen floor in an intoxicated state, unable to speak or tell them where the children were. Sander fell when she got up and attempted to walk. EMS took Sander to UPMC Muncy for treatment. Charges were filed at the Muncy magisterial office and bailed was set at $20,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing is set for May 20. NorthcentralPa.com provides the region with reliable, relevant, and real-time news, covering weather, community news and events, crime, police activity, local, regional, and national alerts, and PennDOT-reported road construction and conditions. We report on local and regional politics, offer a platform for nonprofits to report their news and events, and share obituaries. Scanner reports let readers know what's happening outside their homes the minute it happens.