GEORGETOWN, SC (WBTW) – Georgetown County deputies arrested 42-year-old Jay Kennedy after they say he gave his 14-year-old daughter vape products. Kennedy was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
“You’re not supposed to have them until you’re 18-years-old, so that’s pretty much the only thing that the police could’ve charged the parent with is contributing to delinquency,” 15th Circuit Court solicitor, Jimmy Richardson said.
Richardson says typically it is an older friend or sibling who buys the age-restricted substances for a minor, rarely the parent.
“It fits the statute, but I don’t know that that statute was ever really meant to be used against parents,” Richardson said.
According to arrest warrants, the mother of the 14-year-old child turned Kennedy in to police after she saw this information in the child’s phone.
Kennedy was released from the Georgetown County Detention Center on Friday on a $500 bond.
According to Richardson, the charge, contributing to the delinquency of a minor carries up to three years of jail time, but he expects Kennedy’s punishment to be much lighter depending on his past history with the law.
