New Hampshire Day Care Owner, Staff Accused of Giving Melatonin to Children Without Parental Consent

A New Hampshire day care owner and three of her employees are facing charges for allegedly dosing children with melatonin without their parents' knowledge or consent.

The Manchester Police Department said detectives initially received a report alleging "unsafe practices" at the in-home day care in November 2023.

The Manchester Police Juvenile Division then launched a "lengthy" investigation, police said in a recent statement.

Detectives learned that the children's food was "being sprinkled with melatonin," an over-the-counter hormone supplement typically used to help people sleep.

In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report revealing that from 2019–2022, melatonin was implicated in approximately 11,000 emergency room visits by infants and young children, representing seven percent of all ER visits by infants and young children for unsupervised medication ingestions.

Part of the rise was attributed to increased melatonin use among adults overall, and part was attributed to the supplements' lack of child-resistant packaging.

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The day care's owner, 52-year-old Sally Dreckman, and employees Traci Innie, 51; Kaitlin Filardo, 23; and Jessica Foster, 23, were each arrested. All four were charged with 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

TMX contributed to this report.