Man admits to letting preteens drink: Faces jail time, fines on 8 charges
I don't know why I did it. They kept begging me and begging me, and I told them no, it would get me in trouble. They finally talked me into it.
- Jeffrey L. Yingling
I propose that we waive any waiting period for the DUMB@$$ Award Hall of Shame, and that we give Mr. Dingaling...er, Yingling...a free and immediate pass to DUMB@$$ immorality...er, immortality. Any objections? I didn't think so....
NEWARK -- A Newark man with four drunken-driving convictions admitted in court on Monday to providing alcoholic beverages to eight children, ages 11 and 12, at his daughter's birthday party.
Jeffrey L. Yingling, 52, was found guilty on eight misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Licking County Juvenile Court. He pleaded innocent to a ninth count, contending one of the juvenile witnesses who claimed to have attended the party wasn't there.
Each charge carries a six-month jail sentence and/or a $1,000 fine. Yingling could be sentenced to 48 months in jail....
According to Newark police records and court documents, Yingling had a party at his residence, 52 Eighth St., for his daughter and her friends on Jan. 31. Yingling took several of the children with him to a nearby drive-through, where he purchased beer, wine coolers and vodka coolers and brought them back to his residence.
Some of the children vomited and others fell asleep, but the party continued until 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, according to court records.
Newark police began an investigation when a parent of one of the partygoers filed a complaint.
At one point during the party, Yingling encouraged the girls to engage in "dirty dancing" and awarded one of the girls $5 for being the best dirty dancer, according to witness statements. Yingling allegedly later disposed of the empty bottles and told the children to keep silent about the drinking, records stated.
No wonder the kids always loved weekends at "Uncle Jeff's", eh?? Of course, my question for the parents would be this: Here is a man who has been busted four times (in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1995) for DWI. Clearly, Mr. Yingling has some issues; don't you think it might have been smart to monitor you children just a WEE bit more closely?? Of course, no parent worth their weight will take responsibility for their own shortcomings- not when there is a "pillar of society" such as Yingling to hang the blame on.
I realize that New Jersey law probably doesn't provide for this in it's penal code (heh...he said "penal"....), but shouldn't we be talking about Yingling losing his parental rights? How is what he did fundamentally different from sexually abusing a child? We're talking about a clear-cut case of child abuse here; shouldn't Jeffrey Yingling be stripped of the right to be a parent and to be around children, much as a sex offender would be? Frankly, Yingling ought to be sterilized- immediately.
Unfortunately, there is no nationwide DUMB@$$ registry- yet. I'm beginning to wonder if Megan's Law is still a work in progress. We've been so focused on child sexual abuse that we seem to have lost sight of the fact that child abuse takes many forms. To some, this may seem harsh, but Jeffrey Yingling should be stripped of his parental rights and denied the right to be around children. Clearly, he has demonstrated a complete lack of responsibility and a total disregard for the welfare of children under his care. Why should he be allowed the possibility of doing the same thing again?
Sometimes, branding someone a DUMB@$$ just doesn't go far enough.
