UPDATE: Attorney Says Former Sag Harbor Board Of Education President Charged With Serving Alcohol To Minors Is Innocent

UPDATE: Sunday, 2 p.m.:

Daniel G. Rodgers, the Southampton criminal attorney representing Ms. Kinsella-Guinchard, said his client didn't know alcohol was being consumed in her home last month.

"We are going to take a vigorous defense for this," Mr. Rodgers said. "I assure you we will come out innocent."

Mr. Rodgers called the incident "a parent's worst fear," noting that Ms. Kinsella-Guinchard's teenage daughter and her friends were in a different part of the house when they were drinking.

"If you look at the facts on the ground she is a former school board member who devotes her time to the community," Mr. Rodgers added. "Not the other way around."

Mr. Rodgers said his client is prepared to plea not guilty when a court date is set.

ORIGINAL:

A former Sag Harbor Board of Education president was charged by Southampton Town Police on Friday with serving alcohol to minors during a party at her home in the village last month.

After receiving an anonymous tip about the January 27 party, responding officers were able to see minors drinking from the outside of Susan Kinsella-Guinchard's Sag Harbor house, according to a press release issued by Lieutenant Todd Spencer. Police questioned Ms. Kinsella-Guinchard, 54, and she denied that a party was going on before locking officers out of her house, the release said.

Ms. Kinsella-Guinchard, who was first elected to the Sag Harbor Board of Education in 2006 and served on the board through 2016, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Police continued to investigate the incident and on Friday at her home charged Ms. Kinsella-Guinchard—exactly three weeks after the party—with the Suffolk County social host law, a violation. She was issued an appearance ticket requiring her to appear in court at a later date.