Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Parents sentence to prison in separate cases of providing drugs to children
Two separate parents appeared in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court this week to receive their prison sentence for providing drugs to children.
A 38-year-old Zanesville woman was sentenced to five to seven-and-a-half years in prison Tuesday for causing her underage son to overdose on fentanyl, which was laced in a line of cocaine she permitted him to consume.
Misty Carsey pleaded guilty to one second-degree felony count of endangering children in May as a result of her criminal behavior. A basic charge of endangering children involves a parent failing to provide care, protection or support, and the basic crime is a misdemeanor. The charge is enhanced when the parent’s actions constitute abuse, as in this case. Furthermore, when the abuse results in physical harm, the crime becomes a felony of the second degree.
Last June, Carsey arranged for her 16-year-old son to drive her and her boyfriend to purchase drugs and alcohol. During the ride, the victim smoked marijuana in the vehicle with his mother. When they returned home to their apartment at Adams Lane, the child was handed a line of cocaine placed on top of a cell phone. The boy snorted the narcotics and overdosed.
A passerby noticed Carsey standing outside the car trying to flag down help for both her son and boyfriend who were not breathing. It took three doses of Narcan for the Zanesville Fire Department to resuscitate the young victim, who later tested positive for marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl.
Assistant Prosecutor John Litle, who handled the case, told Judge Fleegle that in addition to the outrageous facts in the case, in her pre-sentence investigation, Carsey was upset that the situation happened to her, as opposed to understanding that the situation happened because of her. Mr. Litle identified the effect on the victim, as well as Carsey’s record, her drug seeking, and her choice of a boyfriend who was a fentanyl and cocaine dealer as reasons a prison term was appropriate. The investigator noticed that Carsey’s number one concern was getting more drugs, not for the safety of her child, and highlighted the prior attempts made to rehabilitate her within the court system.
Dustin Thorpe, 39, received a 16-month sentence Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to two fourth-degree felony counts of corrupting another with drugs. Thorpe was supervising five children during a sleep-over in February. Thorpe gave a 12 and 13-year-old marijuana he obtained from a Newark marijuana dispensary. The children smoked, vaped and used a bong to consume the marijuana on video.
“The short-term and long-term effects of the use of marijuana by teenagers include increased aggression, decreased motivation and interest, mental health problems and risky sexual behaviors,” Assistant Prosecutor Molly Martin said.
The parents of the children became aware of the outrageous scenario when Snapchat videos appeared of their children using marijuana. The parents of the victimized children immediately removed their children from the situation and contacted law enforcement. Evidence recovered from the home supported the facts the juveniles shared with authorities that Thorpe was smoking a blunt in his living room, and allowed the kids to take a hit when asked.
Among the many tragedies of narcotics abuse is the ease with which the abuse can pass from one generation to another within a family. This case highlights something far more sinister – the provision of drugs, and the approval of drug abuse, between parents and children. That behavior will not be tolerated in Muskingum County.
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