SUDBURY, Mass. — Charges have been filed against a Massachusetts couple and their teenage child for allegedly hosting an underage drinking party that forced a high school to switch to remote-only learning to start the school year, police said.

What You Need To Know

  • Police in Sudbury, Mass., broke up a party where teenagers were drinking and not wearing masks or socially distancing

  • The parents who own the house and their teenage child have been charged with violating the state's social host law

  • Coronavirus concerns have forced the teen's high school to delay in-person classes for two weeks, going completely remote

  • There are no known COVID-19 cases related to the party, but authorities do not know the identities of all the guests

 

Sudbury police Chief Scott Nix confirmed to The MetroWest Daily News that his department has filed charges of violating the state's social host law.

No names were released because the case will first go in front of a clerk magistrate, who will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go before a judge.

When police broke up the Sept. 11 party, several people ran into the woods and other partygoers gave officers fake names.

Because so many of the partygoers could not be identified, and they did not take measures to prevent transmission of the coronavirus, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Superintendent Bella Wong decided that instead of starting the school year with a hybrid learning model, the school would start fully remote.

"There are no known positive COVID cases involving these students at the time of this release,” the Sudbury Board of Health said in a news release. “Due to lack of information of who attended the event and the inability to consult directly with those students, the risk to the school community cannot be adequately assessed," 

Police told CNN that at least 50 students attended the party in the basement of the home and that social distancing and mask recommendations were not followed.

Under the social host law, anyone who furnishes alcohol to underage drinkers faces a $2,000 fine and up to a year in prison. 

The high school was supposed to open Sept. 15 with a hybrid of remote and in-person classes. But as a result of the party, it is doing classes exclusively online for two weeks. 

“After the intensity of hard work and planning that has been done to be able to start school with students in-person, we are profoundly disappointed at this sudden change of plans,” Wong said in a letter to parents, NBC Boston reported.