Bucks party mom sentenced to prison

A suburban mother who wound up showering naked with two ninth-grade boys she was supposed to be chaperoning was sentenced to at least 111/2 months in prison this afternoon in Bucks County Court.

Angela Honeycutt, 39, of Lower Makefield, was convicted last month of two counts of corrupting the morals of minors. A jury acquitted her of more serious charges that she had sexual contact with the boys during a teen party last spring that turned into a tawdry sleepover.

"I lost total control of a serious situation . . .," Honeycutt, a single mother of two young children, told Judge John J. Rufe in court. "I have been paying every day for my lack of judgment that horrible night."

Rufe sentenced Honeycutt to serve 81/2 to 17 months in the Bucks County prison for the two misdemeanor crimes. Then he tacked on an additional three to six months for violating her probation on an unrelated drug conviction.

The judge told Honeycutt that under the law she was no different from a man who had taken advantage of teenage girls, acknowledging that some people see a double standard in cases such as hers.

"Some people might even suggest that you committed a crime with no victims," the judge told Honeycutt. "The Pennsylvania Legislature has made no distinction, and neither do I."

The crimes occurred during a teen party that began April 11 at the home of Lynne Long-Higham, a neighbor and friend of Honeycutt's. About 20 teens, mostly ninth-grade friends of Long-Higham's elder son, gathered at the home.

After most of the youths went home, Honeycutt, who admitted being drunk, began talking about sex and kissing some of the few boys who remained, and exposing herself to them. Three of the boys said she kissed them and invited them into the shower with her; two of them accepted, one after the other.

One of the boys said he had sexual intercourse with Honeycutt in the shower. A second boy said he had other sexual contact with her.

Honeycutt denied touching the boys sexually, and the jury believed her, finding her not guilty of statutory sexual assault and other felony charges.