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By Dustin Phillips on
September 9, 2014
January 26, 2022

If it weren't for alcohol, criminal defense attorneys would have a lot fewer clients. When under the influence of drugs or alcohol, people tend to have lowered inhibitions, decreased judgment, and a lack of impulse control. For some people, that combination causes life-changing decisions.A Canadian County woman is finding out just how horribly her life has gone astray after she was arrested and charged with child neglect and child sexual abuse.Investigators say 40-year-old Alethea Montgomery of Piedmont was the caretaker of an 11-year-old relative. However, rather than taking care of the boy, deputies say she neglected him and, in a drunken stupor, sexually assaulted him.The boy said that Montgomery was heavily intoxicated when she asked him to lie down beside her. She exposed her breasts and tried to get him to touch her, but he said, "No, no, no!" and ran to hide behind a curtain. Rather than giving up, the boy says, Montgomery tried to pursue him. He ran outside for help.When police responded to the scene, they found Montgomery so inebriated that they were unable to question her until another day. They also found squalid living conditions, including trash, feces, and beer cans covering the floor and a refrigerator empty except for water, beer, and spoiled milk. The boy allegedly told investigators that he hadn't eaten or bathed in weeks.When police were finally able to question Montgomery, she told them that she didn't remember anything about the alleged incident, which is likely true if she was as intoxicated as reports say. She did say, �however, that the boy was "not a liar," and that if she had done anything to him, she did so in her sleep. She later�said, "I believe him, I believe him, I'm just sick to my stomach."Montgomery is charged in Canadian County District Court with one count of child neglect in violation of 21 O.S. 843.5(c) and one count of child sexual abuse in violation of 21 O.S. 843.5(e).She is held on $50,000 bond. Montgomery is represented by a public defender, and her preliminary hearing conference is scheduled for September 17.Child neglect is defined in 10A O.S. § 1-1-105 as follows:

"Neglect" means:

a. the failure or omission to provide any of the following:

(1) adequate nurturance and affection, food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, hygiene, or appropriate education,

(2) medical, dental, or behavioral health care,

(3) supervision or appropriate caretakers, or

(4) special care made necessary by the physical or mental condition of the child,

b. the failure or omission to protect a child from exposure to any of the following:

(1) the use, possession, sale, or manufacture of illegal drugs,

(2) illegal activities, or

(3) sexual acts or materials that are not age- appropriate, or

c. abandonment.

Depending on the severity of the offense, child neglect is punishable by a maximum of life in prison. Likewise, child sexual abuse is punishable by a maximum life sentence.

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