PONTIAC - A Chenoa woman has been found guilty of a misdemeanor alcohol charge in connection with an underage drinking party that turned deadly.

A felony charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile was dismissed.

Anne Haugen, 50, of Chenoa, will be sentenced in October on a charge of unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor. She was found guilty Friday after a bench trial in Livingston County Circuit Court.

The charges stemmed from a Feb. 17, 2007, high school drinking party in Forrest. Travis Steidinger, 16, of Fairbury, was among party-goers who ran from the house believing police had arrived. Steidinger, who left without shoes or coat, died of hypothermia and was found the next day in a field near Forrest.

Authorities said Haugen had given her then-16-year-old daughter a keg of beer, placing it in a car trunk during halftime of a Prairie Central High School basketball game.

Defense attorney James Casson argued the felony charge would have required someone to solicit, compel or direct someone who is under 17, and that did not happen. Special Prosecutor Ed Parkinson said he could not make an argument for the case with the specific legal definitions.

"I do not believe, in good faith, that I can satisfy the meaning of these words," Parkinson said.

Associate Judge Robert Travers ruled statutory language for the felony charge did not match the events.

Illinois State Police Special Agent Sgt. Greg Dixon testified Haugen's daughter originally said she received a keg of beer from a friend in Normal, and only gave the initial "J" as identification. The daughter later admitted she got the keg from her mother.

Haugen admitting giving her daughter the keg and was forthcoming with police, Dixon said. "She was very cooperative and willing to talk about it," Dixon said.

The misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a $2,500 fine. The minimum sentence is an order to pay court costs.