NY Father Pleads Guilty In Fentanyl Death Of Toddler: DA

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — A local man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminally negligent homicide for the fentanyl-related death of his 16-month-old child.

Haitham Dasan, 49, entered the plea during a proceeding in Dutchess County Court, according to Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi.

Dasan is expected to get between two and four years in prison at his sentencing hearing on May 20.

He had originally been charged last year with second-degree manslaughter.

Parisi called the child’s death “tragic and entirely preventable.”

“Throughout this process, the strength and perseverance of the child’s mother has been extraordinary, and her advocacy played an important role in ensuring accountability,” Parisi said.

With his plea, Haitham Dasan admitted he caused the April 2021 death of his daughter, Soraiya Dasan, prosecutors said.

“Dasan admitted that he touched a plastic straw in a clear plastic container that contained fentanyl,” the district attorney’s office said. “He further admitted that he prepared food and fed his daughter food tainted with fentanyl.”

The Dutchess County Medical Examiner’s Officer’s office conducted an autopsy on the child, and determined her cause of death was due to acute fentanyl intoxication.

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NY Father Charged With Manslaughter In Fentanyl Death Of Toddler: DA