A 17-year-old babysitter identified as Naledi Roberts has been charged with child abuse after allegedly forcing a toddler to inhale cannabis from a lit joint.
Roberts was seen in the video placing the lit joint in the one-year-old girl’s mouth, who inhaled as the embers at the end of the cigarette glowed brighter. She then removed it from the child’s mouth and placed it in her own before inhaling.
Daily Mail reported that Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Roberts on Friday, March 24, after detectives discovered the footage she had recorded.
Upon being questioned, Roberts admitted to smoking marijuana near the tot, who she was babysitting for her 16-year-old friend. But, after she was challenged with the tape, Roberts went on to acknowledge she had slipped the joint into the child’s mouth.
Roberts was then arrested by officers and charged with one count of felony child abuse. She was taken to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Centre. She has since refused to explain why she put the drug into the child’s mouth.
According to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, the child did not appear to have sustained any long-term injuries as a result of the incident.
Roberts has no prior criminal history, apart from two traffic violations. She was found driving with a learner permit without a person aged 21 or over in the passenger seat in October 2021 and in December 2022. She paid two fines of $166 for each offence.
