The shocking reality of a heroin overdose have been exposed after a four-year-old boy was pictured in the backseat of a car, with his grandmother and her partner in the front, seemingly dead to the world.
Rhonda Pasek, 50, has been sentenced to 180 days in prison after the grandmother was charged with endangering a child.
After Rhonda pleaded no contest, a Juvenile Court judge in Ohio granted custody of her grandson to relatives in South Carolina.
Her partner, James Acord, had passed out at the wheel of their car in East Liverpool, Ohio.
Police had started to follow them when they noticed that their car was “weaving back and forth”.
Officer Kevin Thompson approached them after they had stopped behind a school bus.
He posted the pics of what he found on the City of East Liverpool, Ohio, Facebook page as he felt the images needed to be seen by the wider world.
The Facebook post was captioned: “We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry.
“But it is time that the no drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis.
“The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours.
“The difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it’s gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that.”
The Associated Press has reported that 47-year-old Acord will serve 360 days behind bars for being slumped at the wheel, under the influence of drugs.
According to an attorney, Pasek is embarrassed that the photos made headline-making news.
Fox 17 has reported that the boy later talked about the situation with his great-grandmother Barbara McCullough.
He said that he knew his grandmother Pasek “got in trouble.”
Barbara told Fox 17: “And I said, ‘Well, honey, your grammy’s maybe a little sick.’
“He was not raised like that. No way.”