2-year-old gets drunk; baby-sitter charged

updated 11:58 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2005

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - A 37-year-old man was charged with child endangerment after one of two toddlers he was baby-sitting was found drunk, authorities said.

Suffolk County sheriff’s deputies investigating a family court case peered through the window of a Patchogue home Tuesday and saw Juan Reyes passed out with the children wandering around the house.

They managed to rouse Reyes, who was the only adult at home with the two toddlers, ages 2 and 3, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputies said Reyes appeared extremely intoxicated.

The deputies also noticed the 2-year-old was having difficulty standing, had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol and was lethargic.

The toddler was taken to the hospital, where tests revealed he was legally intoxicated, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.094 percent, the sheriff’s office said. In New York, a driver is considered drunk with an alcohol content of 0.08 percent or greater.

The second child was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.

At the time, the children’s parents were at a hospital, where the mother was giving birth.

Reyes was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip and ordered held on $5,000 bail. He was scheduled to return to court on Jan. 3.

Robert Clifford, spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney, said the children’s family lives at the house where the toddlers were found. Reyes also gave that as his address during his arraignment.

The district attorney’s office said Reyes was being represented by the Legal Aid Society. Calls to the society went unanswered Wednesday evening.

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