CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Police charged a Chesterfield County mother with felony child neglect on Easter Day after her two-year-old son ingested prescription drugs. Chesterfield County Police said the boy ingested a controlled substance belonging to his parents and was treated at Chippenham Hospital.
Twenty-five-year old Courtney Schold was charged and the boy was removed from her care. The child is okay and staying with a relative, police said. Schold’s relatives refused to comment on the case.
Police are performing tests to find out exactly what kind of drug was in the child's system.
Pediatrician Dr. Mark Flanzenbaum, who co-owns KidMed, said he sees children all the time who accidentally ingest substances they should not, but their parents are not charged.
He doesn’t know the circumstances surrounding this particular case, but said “there would have to be some gross negligence to really warrant getting charges.”
Police did not say where the child ingested the drugs, but we learned Schold lives at the White House Motel on Jefferson Davis Highway. Nobody answered the door at Schold’s motel room.
Flanzenbaum said this could should remind parents to keep their drugs hidden from their kids.
“Keep all of your medications out of the reach of children, make sure all the bottle tops are on,” Flanzenbaum said.
