Michelle Drake says she was stuck in an impossible situation. Drake, 20, of 2520 County Road 28, Apt. 1A, Canandaigua, is the nanny who was charged with unlawfully dealing with a child early Monday after Ontario County sheriff’s deputies said she allowed a 14-year-old to get drunk while in her care. Deputies said they went to a home on Silvernail Drive just before midnight Sunday after they were alerted about a possible underage drinking party. Teens were found in a car parked outside the home; inside, the living room and kitchen were littered with beer cans, the deputies reported. The deputies said that the boy was obviously intoxicated. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, said Drake in an interview Tuesday. “It makes it sound like I was throwing a party, and I was not throwing a party,” she said. “I was not OK with the situation.” Drake said she was watching the 14-year-old boy because his parents were out of town on business. She said she allowed him to have a few a friends over to watch television in another part of the house. Next thing she knew, more than a dozen teens showed up at the home, some of them with beer, Drake said. “I didn’t want the situation to escalate,” said Drake, so she asked the boy to make his friends leave. Drake said she tried calling the boys’ parents’ but couldn’t reach them. Within minutes, deputies were at the home, apparently because of neighbors’ complaints. “I would never give permission for anyone to consume alcohol while under my supervision, and I absolutely do not approve of underage drinking,” she said. “I’m just glad that the situation ended without anyone getting hurt.” Drake said she stayed with the boy – after deputies gave her a court appearance ticket for the misdemeanor – to await his parents’ arrival home. “He took full responsibility with his parents,” she said. “He told them it was his idea, not mine.” Drake said she applied to work as a nanny for the family after she saw an ad they had placed in a newspaper. Last fall, after interviewing her, the family hired Drake, who is originally from Wellsville, in the Southern Tier. She said she had been watching the boy every day after school while his parents were at work. He has two older siblings, she said, but they are both away at college, she said. The boy’s parents did not return calls for comment. The boy is being charged for the alleged incident as a minor and is being referred by deputies to the sheriff’s Juvenile Aid Bureau. Jessica Pierce can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 250, or at [email protected].
