NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A mother and father are facing charges of child neglect after their 7 month old infant was hospitalized, and a toxicology report revealed the child ingested methamphetamine, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the child was brought to an emergency room by Nassau County Fire Rescue, and that the child was having seizures. Investigators said the child did not have any signs of physical injury.
A toxicology report, the Sheriff’s Office said, revealed meth was in the child’s system. The infant was taken to Wolfson Children’s Hospital for further treatment.
According to investigators, the child’s mother and father crushed a small rock inside a $5 bill, placed it on a table and snorted the drugs through a straw while the child was with a babysitter. The following afternoon, deputies said, the mother went to work and the father came home to care for the child.
That night, the infant got hold of the $5 bill, which was in the father’s wallet, the Sheriff’s Office said. The father told deputies that shortly after, the child became unresponsive and began gasping for air.
Jessica Lorina Leclair, 33, and Travis Levi Hendricks, 35, both of Fernandina Beach, were charged with child neglect. Hendricks’ sister, Casey, told News4Jax the baby has been released from the hospital and is staying with a family member.
“I just hope that this opens eyes for some people,” she said. “It doesn’t take but a second for things to go wrong and for things to go terribly worse.”
The Department of Children and Families is investigating.