Teenager Served Alcohol on Cruise Falls Overboard

ByABC News
April 12, 2006, 11:22 PM

April 13, 2006 — -- For Paul O'Brien and his family, the weeklong cruise on the Costa Magica three months ago was going to be more than just a vacation. It was to be a glorious reunion for O'Brien and three childhood friends from Dublin, Ireland, who hadn't been together as a group for 25 years.

"Everybody was excited," O'Brien said. "The children were just having a great time ... as far as I was concerned it was a totally safe environment. Totally, totally safe."

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On the third night, after dinner, the teenagers went off on their own. When O'Brien's 15-year-old daughter, Lynsey, didn't return on time, he sent her older sister, Kelly, to look for her.

"At approximately midnight, Kelly discovered Lynsey ... drinking in a bar," O'Brien said. "She immediately took Lynsey away from the bar with her friends. She wasn't permitted to drink. We didn't allow her to drink."

When Lynsey's parents discovered that a ship bartender had been feeding alcohol to their 15-year-old, they were upset and called a senior cruise staff member and "complained bitterly," O'Brien said.

"Primetime" obtained copies of the receipts from Lynsey's bar tab. In just 90 minutes, Lynsey had likely consumed at least a dozen units of alcohol -- including "Sex on the Beach" and other vodka cocktails, according to the charges on the tab.

And although she was just 15, she signed for all the drinks herself, even though her cruise charge card indicated she was underage.

"Lynsey did not look 21; she was a child," her father said. "There's no way anybody could think Lynsey was 21 years of age."

When Lynsey returned to her cabin, O'Brien got her some water, told her she was through for the night and that they would discuss it all in the morning.

"I didn't realize how much alcohol she'd consumed," he said. "We put Lynsey into her bed. I leaned over, I kissed her goodnight. I said, 'I love you, pet, I'll talk to you tomorrow.'"

Lynsey's parents then went to their room next door. What happened next is Paul O'Brien's best guess.