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SALT LAKE CITY — A Magna mother was charged Friday with felony child abuse after police say she gave her 13-year-old son enough alcohol to cause him to pass out.
Chastity Lee Cravens, 29, called 911 on Monday and told dispatchers that she found alcohol in her son's room at their home, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court. She also reported finding him unresponsive.
Police "immediately noticed signs of impairment" in Cravens as well, stating that her eyes were glossy and her speech was slow and slurred, the charges state. Police say a breath test revealed her son's alcohol content was .018 percent. Utah's legal limit of blood alcohol concentration for adult consumption and driving is .08 percent.
The teen later told police that he had asked his mother for some alcohol and that she had given it to him. The two allegedly drank together at the kitchen table. Charging documents also state that Cravens told police, "Yes, I gave it to him."
Cravens allegedly admitted to knowing it was wrong to give alcohol to a minor, but also told police "it was better for her to give him the alcohol than to beat him," a Salt Lake County Jail report states. She allegedly told police that "alcohol calms her son down."
Two other young children were sleeping in the home when the drinking occurred, according to the report.
Cravens is charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony. She was no longer in the Salt Lake County Jail on Saturday, but it was unknown whether she posted the $25,000 bail set by the court.
Other than an eviction notice and a couple of traffic tickets, Cravens does not have a criminal history with Utah agencies.
Email: wleonard@ksl.com
