Florida couple arrested after their 21-month-old child consumed cocaine, cops say

A Venice, Florida, couple faces child neglect charges after a 21-month-old child consumed cocaine, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Kaitlyn Van Dorn, 33, and Blake Pavey, 34, were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and probation violation on a previous charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Deputies were initially called on Jan. 8 to a home in Venice, Florida, to assist the Sarasota County Fire Department on a medical call involving an unconscious child who was not breathing.

When first responders arrived, Van Dorn said the child picked up an unknown object off the ground and put it in his mouth during a neighborhood walk, according to the sheriff's office

The child then began stumbling and became limp before losing consciousness, Van Dorn told investigators.

Emergency personnel administered three doses of Naloxone, which caused the child to quickly regain consciousness and become alert. Naloxone is a drug used to counteract the effects of opioids. The child was taken to the hospital for additional testing.

Deputies did not find any of the items on the route the child was reportedly walking along. Surveillance video from a nearby business did not show Van Dorn walking the route at the time she stated, according to WWSB.

Police returned to Van Dorn’s home, where she soon located the teal bucket behind a closed door and presented it to deputies.

Inside the bucket was a silver spoon and tissue, both items consistent with the ingestion of narcotics, according to the sheriff's office.

Pavey told deputies he did not accompany Van Dorn on the walk but backed her story, the sheriff's office stated.

After several months of trying to obtain hospital medical records related to the child’s toxicity levels, detectives confirmed the child overdosed on cocaine.

The child has not been in the care of either defendant since January.

On May 29, both Van Dorn and Pavey were taken into custody.

Pavey was released on a $15,000 bond while Van Dorn remains in custody without bond related to a violation of probation charge.