A Winter Park physician will not face criminal charges after being accused of hosting an alcohol-fueled house party for minors, which police say sent a 15-year-old girl to the hospital last month.
Hao Nhu Tran, 51, was arrested Oct. 12 on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and selling, serving or giving liquor to someone under 21 years of age. Police said Tran knew that underage alcohol consumption was happening at her home and allowed an open house party that placed several children in jeopardy, court records show.
But prosecutors said in a Monday court filing that they will not be charging Tran with any crimes because “evidence at trial will not overcome one or more affirmative defenses.” There was no other information in the filing.
Winter Park police responded to Tran’s Chestnut Avenue home shortly after midnight on Oct. 11 after receiving calls about children allegedly “falling down drunk.” Tran told officers she was hosting an event for children at her son’s school but that children from other schools whom she didn’t know showed up, too, according to her arrest affidavit.
In Tran’s home, officers found empty alcoholic beverage containers— including High Noon and Smirnoff — in trash bags that were tied up in the kitchen.
Tran told police a 15-year-old girl “passed out” from drinking. She found her in an upstairs bedroom in the home and made sure she was breathing before calling the girl’s mother, who arrived and called 911. The girl was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was vomiting and barely coherent when police arrived. The mother told police she did not want to press charges but also that Tran hadn’t wanted 911 to be called, the affidavit said.
Tran’s medical practice focuses on the diseases of the ear, nose and throat according to her AdventHealth online profile.