ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Investigators have charged Caleb Richards with intentional child abuse inflicting serious injury, after his one-year-old ingested Fentanyl.
Rockingham County deputies could not confirm how the baby ingested the drug.
However, when the baby got to the hospital for emergency care, healthcare workers found the drug in its system. Thankfully the one-year-old is expected to be okay.
Narcan is one of the tools officials use to treat Fentanyl overdoses, but Sheriff Sam Page says they need to figure out other ways to handle the situation, especially in situations where younger victims are involved.
"It's a very sad situation. That's not the only child case I've heard of in the region, or anywhere in the United States. I used to get reports and information from different sources. It's sad, it's a tragic situation, but I'm glad that we were able to provide assistance and support to save a life again," Page continued ", I worry about what happens in America because Narcan is not the total solution, it's a mandate until we can figure something out."
Andy Pate with Forsyth County EMS explains the signs people should look out for, that could indicate an overdose.
Pate says the signs are similar to those of an adult, but identifying overdoses in younger kids can be more challenging.
"The smaller children, it will probably be harder to relate to because they don't communicate the same. They would be hard to arouse, they may be really sleepy. They may also have some labored breathing or shallow breathing where they're not breathing normally, those are tale, tale signs that something's going on and then you just try and look to see what the cause is," said Pate.
As for Richards, this is not his first run-in with law enforcement when it comes to child abuse.
Last February, he was arrested for allegedly throwing his then-girlfriend's child into a wall, causing the child to have bruises on their face and head. The warrant also says Richards smacked the child in the face.
Additionally, back in 2020, he was arrested for two counts of assault on a child. That arrest warrant cites Richards struck a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old with a switch causing marks and bruises.
While the numbers here in the Triad are not significant, county officials say innocent overdoses concerning young children do happen.
Last year, one child under the age of five was treated for an overdose in Guilford County.
Officials say within the past year in Forsyth County, two children under twelve were treated with Narcan.