A startling incident has emerged from Chester W. Barrows Elementary School in Rhode Island, where a teaching assistant is accused of inadvertently leaving a bag of cocaine in the school nurse’s office bathroom. The suspect, 58-year-old Stephanie Cicilline-Given, is the younger sister of former Democratic Congressman David Cicilline.
The incident came to light on March 12, when police were called to the school after the nurse discovered a plastic bag containing cocaine, along with a straw typically used for snorting the drug. The nurse promptly handed the items over to the school principal, who then contacted the Cranston Police Department, as detailed in a police report obtained by 12 News.
Investigators quickly traced the drugs back to Cicilline-Given, identifying her as the last adult to have accessed the bathroom prior to the morning recess. Despite the evidence, Cicilline-Given initially believed that the authorities had stumbled upon her misplaced vape, rather than the illicit drugs.
Cicilline-Given’s familial connection to a prominent former lawmaker, as reported by NBC 10 News, adds an unexpected twist to the unfolding story, which has captured the attention of both the local community and the broader public.
Authorities homed in on Cicilline-Given, the last known adult to have used the bathroom before morning recess.
Cicilline-Given, though, was none the wiser and assumed police had found her missing vape.
When an officer informed her they had actually discovered a bag of cocaine, she asked if she would need a lawyer — before they even accused her of any wrongdoing, the report said.
Cicilline-Given repeatedly inquired about her vape while insisting she didn’t know anything about the cocaine. After police interviewed her colleagues, Cicilline-Given circled back with a very specific hypothetical.
“I don’t want all these teachers to go through this. What if I said the cocaine was mine? What would happen next?” she asked, according to the report.
The boneheaded teaching assistant backtracked and clarified she wasn’t confessing to misplacing the cocaine in question, but rather admitting to being an occasional cocaine user outside of school, the report said.
She explained that she changed purses that morning and likely left her vape at home. She claimed she wanted to help, but was worried about being laid off.
Cicilline-Given started to laugh as the officer pressed her for more information on the baggie.
Investigators speculated the cocaine fell out of her bag while she was doing her makeup in the bathroom, the report stated.
Cicilline-Given eventually told police she wanted to speak with an attorney. She was taken to the Cranston Police Department and charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of cocaine, according to the arrest log.
She is scheduled to appear in court on April 21.
Cicilline-Given isn’t the first person in her family to have a negative run-in with the law.
In 2018, Susan Cicilline-Buonanno, Cicilline-Given’s sister and a former Rhode Island councilwoman, was pulled over on the tv show “A&E Live PD” under suspicion of driving under the influence. She was released after the officer determined she was “under medication.”
