Rhonda Pasek, the woman who overdosed on heroin in a car while her grandson sat in the backseat, has been sentenced to 180 days in prison.
Per the Associated Press, Pasek, 50, pleaded no contest to a child endangering charge on Thursday, September 15. A Juvenile Court judge in Ohio granted custody of the 4-year-old boy — his name has not been disclosed — to relatives that reside in South Carolina.
As previously reported, Pasek and her boyfriend, 47-year-old James Acord, passed out in their Ford Explorer in East Liverpool, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 7. Acord, who was driving the vehicle, pleaded no contest to child endangerment and operating a vehicle under the influence, the AP reports. He will serve 360 days behind bars.
Authorities released the graphic photos of Pasek and Acord slouched over and unconscious on the City of East Liverpool, Ohio, Facebook page. According to a police report, officer Kevin Thompson followed the couple when he noticed that the car was “weaving back and forth.” He approached them once they stopped behind a school bus.
“We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the no drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis,” the photo caption read via Facebook. “The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours, the difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it’s gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that.” According to an attorney, Pasek is embarrassed that the photos made headline-making news.
According to Fox 17, the little boy later talked about the situation with his great-grandmother Barbara McCullough and knew his grandmother Pasek “got in trouble.”
“And I said, ‘Well, honey, your grammy’s maybe a little sick,'” McCullough told the outlet. “He was not raised like that. No way.”
