Former principal avoids jail in teen house party case
By Greg Fox
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BREVARD COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan and her attorneys offered no comment as they left the courthouse in Viera on Monday following the judge’s acceptance of her plea agreement with the State.
This should never have happened but it did happen, prosecutor Julia Lynch told the court.
Hill-Brodigan, the former Roosevelt Elementary School principal, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanors, which could have resulted in jail time if she elected to go to trial, and was convicted.
The three charges are, hosting an open house party in which alcohol was being consumed by minors, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors.
It stems from the Jan.19, 2025, party at her Cocoa Beach home, that officers say was attended by roughly 100 teens, some of them telling police both alcohol and marijuana were on hand. One teen was found vomiting and shaking on the front lawn and treated for alcohol poisoning. Another was arrested for DUI.
Hill-Brodigan’s agreement comes with two years supervised probation, requires no unsupervised contact with minors and prohibits her from hosting parties with alcohol or marijuana present with anyone under 21.
While neither Hill-Brodigan, nor her attorneys, Kepler Funk and Keith Szachacz, would comment, the prosecutor said the punishment will serve its purpose.
Lynch added, “The probation will make sure that she has no contact with children so it’s going to limit her ability to have these types of parties again, at least for two years.”
Also arrested with Hill-Brodigan last year, was school teacher Karly Anderson.
On body camera video from Cocoa Beach police, Anderson appeared intoxicated and told an officer, “Well you know I’m a teacher who the f**** did you put… who got put in that car?”
Anderson was convicted of disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest without violence, and sentenced to probation. She’s appealing her conviction.
The 17-year-old girl who was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after she left the house party, attained an agreement with the State in October.
She was allowed to plead to a less charge of careless driving and was directed to attend DUI driver school.
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