Utah Couple Charged With Child Endangerment After Giving Drugs To Newborn

A couple in Utah has been arrested and charged with four counts of child endangerment and a first-degree felony charge of drug distribution after they allegedly gave drugs to their newborn daughter right from the day she was born. The couple also tried to cover up their daughter's addiction to drugs, reports said Sunday.

The accused, Colby Glen Wilde, 29, and 26-year-old Lacey Dawn Christenson, have three other children, all boys of ages 2, 4, and 8. Two boys also tested positive for drugs, according to the police officials.

"Child endangerment refers to an act or omission that renders a child to psychological, emotional or physical abuse. Child abuse based on the offense of child endangerment is normally a misdemeanor, but endangerment that results in mental illness or serious physical illness or injury is a felony. The child who is subjected to child endangerment is called an abused child or a neglected child," according to USlegal.com.

The punishment range for a child endangerment felony charge in most states is two years and could increase up to twenty years.

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Authorities in Utah said they learned the mother had been taking heroin and prescription pain medication during pregnancy, and thus her child was born addicted to drugs. They also said parents who are drug addicts and give birth to babies already addicted to drugs try to mask the addiction by using prescription drugs like suboxone or methadone and apply it to the gums of an infant.

"They administered the drug hours after the baby was born," said Sgt. Spencer Cannon, a Utah County Sheriff's spokesperson, referring to the newborn girl.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," Cannon, a member of the investigation team said, CBS News reported.

"You've got an infant who cannot do anything for herself and the people who should be providing her nurture and love and care are the ones who are harming that child and the same thing for the other three children," he added.

Confessing to their crime, the couple said they tried hiding the two-month-old baby’s drug addiction from the nurses in the hospital where she was born. "They took this medication crushed it up. They would wet a finger dip it in the crushed up pills and apply it to the gums of the child," Cannon said.

Police said their first encounter with Wilde, the father of the baby, was on June 26 when the authorities responded to the Spanish Fork Walmart, Utah, after a possible theft in the store. Wilde was accused of stealing an item and trying to get a refund pretending he had bought the thing earlier. When the staff in the store attempted to stop him, he ran away carrying his two-month-old daughter.

"He ran into one of the sliding doors and dropped the child who was in the car seat, the car seat rolled across the floor," Cannon said. Wilde picked up the car seat and dropped it again and "Handed the car seat and the child to a stranger and then got in the car and took off."

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Police chased him down and arrested him on suspicion of driving under influence, possession of drugs, and possible charges of theft and child abuse were listed then, according to NBC Affiliate KFOR.

Authorities said the 26-year-old Lacey Dawn Christenson, his wife, and the child’s mother was also in Walmart along with their other 3 children. She was also arrested.

While the pair was in jail, a woman who went to care for the couple’s pets at their home June 28 reported to the police she found drug paraphernalia in the house.

Deputies immediately investigated and discovered drugs and paraphernalia in the home. One of the drugs they found was Suboxone, a prescribed pain medication used for addiction treatment.

Authorities said the two younger boys along with the newborn girl tested positive for methamphetamine. The two-month-old girl also tested positive for heroin and morphine, according to Fox8 Live.