Springfield man charged with giving alcohol to minors

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(Terry Benson, 54, is accused of furnishing alcohol to minors and endangering the welfare of a minor.)

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Published: 1/25 6:31 pm

Updated: 1/28 11:42 am

EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KMTR) -- A Springfield man is facing multiple charges after being accused of giving alcohol to a group of teenagers.

54-year-old Terry Lee Benson was arrested by Springfield Police at his home on Thursday, January 24. Benson is facing multiple counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and endangering the welfare of a minor. Benson is being held in the Springfield jail.

Eugene Police (EPD) began investigating the case several weeks ago after getting a report from a parent about an incident involving Benson and several minors drinking alcohol.

EPD representatives say Benson provided alcohol to a group of at least six teenagers from various Eugene and Springfield high schools during the Christmas break on December 27, 2012.

The way the incident unfolded has one parent of the involved teens concerned and speaking out about the experience.

The parent did not want to appear on camera Friday, but told NewsSource 16 that some of the teens involved were picked up at their respective homes by Benson. According to the parent, Benson then drove them to his house in Springfield where at least six underage kids had free access to alcohol without limits.

Eventually the parents heard about the story from some of the teens involved and went to a school resource officer with Eugene Police.

The parent says this incident is a reminder to talk to kids about what’s safe and for parents to think about what their role is.

“I don't know what he was thinking at the time, but it's not okay and I want my kids to know,” says the parent. “To parents, I want to sa, you know, be the responsible parent, know right from wrong and set a good example for your kids.”

The parent says many of the kids involved sneaked out of their houses to go to Benson's house. Even though he was a stranger to those kids, the kids apparently got in the car because their 'other friends did it'.

Benson is being held in the Springfield jail on six counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and five counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Eugene and Springfield Police are still investigating.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NewsSource 16

Kdubbb - 2/7/2013 9:44 PM

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I am very close to one of the girls involved and can say unreservedly that she has the most attentive, wonderful and caring parents. As many teenagers do, she snuck out that night. I did the same at her age. Except I didn't have a middle aged adult male covertly picking me up in the middle of the night, bringing me to his house, giving me alcohol and weed, and keeping me until after 5am. All of these are facts of the case. Those surmising that Benson was unaware that the three 15 year old girls whose houses he picked up from did not have permission to go out are either lacking in basic reasoning skills or trolling. The facts are clear in this case and each individual involved indepentendly corroborated them. So stop defending the guy, he knew full well what he was doing and it's not some sort of witch hunt to "ruin his life." It's a rational response to a real situation that put three 15 year old girls at risk. Not to mention at least one of them became blackout, vomitously drunk under his watch.

hugomad - 1/30/2013 11:03 PM

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There's no buck to pass. This man was only doing the best he could with what he has. Again, I don't condone buying alcohol for minors. At the same time I understand why he did so. The parents of the teens involved should reevaluate their own home front before this attempt at destroying someone else's life. I would lay a $100 bill down that says these kids will continue a path to some degree of destruction as a direct result of their parents inability to accept responsibility in teaching their kids right & wrong. These parents are "passing the buck" as you say by blaming someone else for their children's unacceptable behavior. Terry did what he did (allegedly-innocent until PROVEN guilty).He may end up paying dearly for that. Years from now, when these kids have been unleashed upon the world unprepared to act properly they will ultimately be the ones to pay an even higher price. Think beyond this one incident. We, as a society, have a responsibility to teach our children to make better decisions. It takes a village right? I think so. I am willing & actively participating in teaching youth as much as I can. Are we all doing what we can? Or is it really ok to expect others to do it for us?

justme - 1/29/2013 3:05 PM

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Ehh! You are all are not correct in your thinking-quit passing the buck- it all stinks! You can't compare what happened in the "good ole days" to now-you can't justify it.

abadpontiac - 1/28/2013 11:21 PM

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@hugomad I AGREE WITH U COMPLETELY this in no different than a man who kills a man who breaks into his house and goes to jail for it this is a man who is protecting his kid and allows other people around society is broken and glad to see citizens see beyond politics to realize that law is not always correct in all instances thank you for sticking up for a citizen.

hugomad - 1/28/2013 11:16 PM

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How many parents today, as teenagers, partied with their friends? I know most of Euge/Spfld did for a fact because I was there. 95% of every party I ever attended was @ a home where the parents bought alcohol & expected their kids & their friends to stay there, hoping this would keep them safer than partying who knows where. I don't advocate buying alcohol for minors. I do understand being a parent that wants the safety of his children to come 1st. this case isn't about this mans ability to parent or about if he's a creeper...it's more about whether we as a society have dropped the ball when it comes to our children & what we allow them to do. If anyone believes police wouldn't imprison someone for no reason you are wrong & obviously have never dealt with the law enforcement in this area before. Believe what you will, that is your right. Yet to blindly accept what you're told is exactly what the plan is. Our taxes pay for a legal system that is horribly broken. Nothing short of a fundamental restructuring will do. Until then don't sneeze in the wrong direction or you will find out for yourself how quickly your entire world will crumble no matter how "good" you've been. The media will take the facts & whip them into something that sells air freshener & tv dinners. Before you cast stones make certain your aim. That stone could boomerang in a kharmic twist ending up hitting your face.

abadpontiac - 1/28/2013 11:15 PM

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any of you wish to comment on this man without knowing his character had better look at yourselves in the mirror and be ashamed of the way the news will put things out for ratings i look at this as a type of jury tampering as there is no way that this could ever be giving a fair trial as the media is putting this out as a 100% false story only giving a quarter of the truth how can a jury of peers ever be true and honest when you already been tainted with a story that sounds so bad when the reality is not as severe as it is made to sound please give this man a fair chance a fair trial as he is not a pedophile and does not contribute to minors but as a real man will not bow down to society but will protect our children.

abadpontiac - 1/28/2013 11:07 PM

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I did not want to have to comment on this as this is one man making a bad decision that he has to deal with i have known Terry Benson for 6 yrs and in 6 yrs this man has never once wanted anything more than the best for any child so he has volunteered his time his gas and his money to take kids to their practice their games and to school this man has taken in kids who would have been homeless and has done nothing but try to care for and protect the kids of his home and community he has been highly involved in sports has been very dedicated to his family and has worked hard to be clean and sober and to keep his kids the same if the charges are true i believe it was only to keep these kids in a controlled house where they cannot be hiding in alleys to drink and be in trouble this man being in his 50's and living a real life not what is now put as a social living being true to what was, not what life has now become he may have let these kids drink at his home in a controlled place to keep them safe not driving around picking them up like a pedophile would, as the story would make it sound this man only cares about their well being. think of it as a man who lived his childhood 40 yrs ago would have allowed people to stay at his house in a state that would be unsafe to go home intoxicated. he would have not provided drugs at any point and anybody that is willing to drink will have the means and the cause and if this man was willing to pick them up and allow them to stay at his house in a safe controlled environment as i know he would is better than anyone of you who is talking bad about a man who is now in jail for doing exactly as the rest of our society should be and watching out for our kids who are going to drink and do drugs with out our consent or knowledge he had the courtesy and the respect to allow it to be done at his house with or without his knowledge this man should be with held as a watchmen not held as a pedophile respectfully his friend robert

4everdux - 1/28/2013 5:16 PM

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This story isn't about whether Mr Benson wasn't a good father or not. The fact is he picked up these 15-year-old girls close to midnight and bought them alcohol to "party" with his son and their friends. Yes, it was bad judgement on his part. What he did was against the law. HE ADMITTED to giving them the alcohol, he just denied giving them marijuana even though all the kids were interviewed separately by the police and said the drugs and alcohol came from him. The police department would not imprison a man for no reason.

citizenmom - 1/28/2013 12:44 PM

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Dear RealityDad and Pvt Thailand, I see a lot of good sense in both of the comments you've made. I wonder if the parents of the teens who snuck out are running their homes "with an iron fist" so to speak, and therefore their kids just violate an rules laid down? However, even if these 15 or 16 year old kids did violate the rules of their parents, what adult allows/buys alcohol for teens? What adult drives over to someone's house (or were these kids out on the streets?) to pick them up? I hope everyone learns from what this story tells. Kids will challenge the rules, and it's up to parents to make sure they enforce rules, give consequences and that they can trust other adults and parents to do the same. I hear all the time of parents allowing alcohol at post prom events and homecoming parties. They should have their photos posted in the paper! The parent that contacted the press should be ashamed of bringing this to KMTR - like you said innocent until proven guilty.

Reality Dad - 1/28/2013 10:18 AM

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Pvt Thailand is absolutely right! 007 getagrip doesn't know anything. Benson hasn't had a drop of booze in over twenty years. Had he known that the kids his son asked him to pick up had snuck out of their house, he never would have brought them to his house. He does not rule his kids with an iron fist, like the kids who left without their parents knowledge. The only thing Terry is guilty of is not asking enough questions about who these strangers were that were going to his house. I had parents who wouldn't allow me to do anything. So...I did everything they wouldn't allow. The parents of these kids are perhaps the the biggest d-bags of all. They can't control their kids and want to ruin this man's life because of it. Had they confronted Terry, he certainly would have made immediate amends. I would trust Terry to take my teenage daughter anywhere, knowing she would be safe in his care. Terry has done more good for our community than those parents who ran to the police will ever dream of. Shame on them and shame on the media for painting this man as a monster. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember, a person is innocent until proven guilty, and there's always more to a story than is reported. If you think those kids are done partying, you've got another thing coming. I suspect they will fail in school, and if they continue to use other people to take the fall for their mistakes, they will fail in life. Karma is real. What comes around, goes around.

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