Parties for teens

A Christchurch mother has pleaded guilty to hosting unlicensed parties for hundreds of underage teenagers. Theresa Soper, known to partygoers as ‘‘Momma Doof’’, initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of allowing alcohol to be drunk on her property during 18 parties she says she held in a refurbished barn over the two years to October 2017. The guilty plea was entered yesterday and she will be sentenced next month. Soper told Stuff in 2017 she had worried about her 16-year-old daughter going to out-of-control parties with no security, so decided to host her own events where teens could party safely. Soper said she did not supply alcohol, but teens brought it in with them. Her last party, a 2017 Halloween celebration, ended when the police riot squad arrived and dispersed about 200 teenagers from the property.