Marseille: One Year in Prison for Giving Cocaine to 10-Year-Old Daughter

A mother in Marseille has been sentenced to one year in prison for administering cocaine to her 10-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized with a severe neurogenetic disease. The incident occurred in February 2022 when the child was being treated at La Timone Enfants hospital.

The girl, who has been followed by the hospital since she was one year old due to developmental delays, experienced a significant health decline, falling into a coma a month after admission. Investigations by medical staff revealed the presence of cocaine and fentanyl in her blood. Further analysis of cerebrospinal fluid taken two years prior also showed traces of cocaine.

Following a judge's order to suspend parental visits, the child's health immediately improved. The mother eventually admitted to consuming cocaine in the hospital room but vehemently denied intentionally administering it to her daughter during court proceedings on May 20. "You can put me in prison for a thousand years, what pains me is that they say I harmed her," she told the judges.

Toxicology experts were unable to definitively determine whether the drug presence in the child resulted from active administration or passive environmental contamination. Slight traces of cocaine found on the child's belongings and food could have been transferred through contact. This scientific uncertainty had led the prosecution to consider reclassifying the charge to endangering a person's life, an unintentional offense.

However, the court did not follow this path, imposing a harsher sentence than the prosecutor's recommendation of four years suspended. The judges handed down a four-year prison sentence, three of which are subject to a three-year probationary period with enhanced conditions. This decision clearly dismissed the possibility of passive contamination, indicating a belief in intentional administration. The mother's lawyer expressed disappointment, calling the investigation "sloppy and poorly conducted."

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You can put me in prison for a thousand years, what pains me is that they say I harmed her.