By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON — Gary J. Sauceda was drunk when he fell asleep with his 5-month-old son Joey on his chest, only to later wake up on top of the infant, according to a jury that found him guilty under the state’s child neglect law.
Sauceda’s blood alcohol level was 0.17 percent nearly two hours after Joey was found dead.
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His attorney said the child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, sometimes called“crib death,” even though Sauceda initially told police his son’s death was his fault, according to court documents.
In April, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Mary Wagner sentenced the father to probation. If Sauceda stays out of trouble, he avoids jail.
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Kenosha County Prosecutor Robert Zapf at the time said the sentence was appropriate.
Still, Zapf has asked state Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Randall, to introduce legislation that would take on the deadly issue of co-sleeping, particularly co-sleeping deaths involving intoxicated guardians, Kerkman said. The lawmaker has been working on legislation since Joey’s death in 2010.
On Thursday, Kerkman proposed a bill that would make it a felony to harm or kill an infant by co-sleeping while intoxicated.
The legislation also requires new parents receive educational materials about safe sleep practices and the dangers of intoxicated co-sleeping before they are discharged from the hospital with their new baby.
And high schools would be required to provide instruction on co-sleeping while intoxicated to high school students.
“In the two years I have been developing this legislation, this issue has really concerned me as a mother of two young boys,” Kerkman said. “Safe sleep conditions are so important for babies, and deaths by intoxicated co-sleeping are so tragic and preventable.”
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