South Jersey Toddler Overdoses On Meth; 2 Women Charged: Police

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ — Two South Jersey women were charged after a 16-month-old child ingested and overdosed on methamphetamine, according to police.

Egg Harbor Township police received the report of the toddler's overdose on April 30, police said. But this was after the actual overdose had happened. The person making the report did so as soon as they found out what had happened to the toddler, but at this point, the child had already recovered, police said. No one actually called police on the date the toddler had apparently ingested the meth, officials said.

Investigation immediately began as soon as officers received the report, which included a video of the incident, police said.

Police worked with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency and medical professionals to confirm that the toddler had, in fact, consumed meth, police said. Arrest warrants were issued on May 21 for Holly Peace, 43, of Egg Harbor Township and Gabrielle DePasquale, 44, of Atlantic City.

Both women were charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and Peace was additionally charged with neglect of a child and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

Mount Laurel police found DePasquale on May 23, and she was turned over to Egg Harbor Township police and subsequently taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility, police said.

Peace was taken into custody on June 5 and also was taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility, police said.

"Our agency would like to make it very clear that when a child ingests any type of substance, he or she should be taken to a medical facility immediately and when appropriate, law enforcement should be contacted regarding the same. This child fortunately recovered from ingesting the substance, but that may not always be the case," Egg Harbor Township police said. "If you are aware of any type of incident involving neglect or abuse but do not want to call police; you can always call 1-877-NJ Abuse. We would ask that for any emergency situations, you always contact 9-1-1. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our kids safe."