EAST LIVERPOOL, OH — The picture circulated around the world quickly and shocked the conscious of many who are not exposed to the ravages of drug use. The impact is exactly what East Liverpool, Ohio Police Chief John Lane had hoped for.
“I don’t think the public understands how bad the problem is, and I don’t think they understand the effect that problem has on any one addict or anybody who depends on that person, is related, or depends on that person. It affects everybody,” Lane said during an appearance Thursday on MetroNews Talkline.
The woman in the picture, Rhonda Pasek, 50, of New Cumberland, West Virginia, appeared in East Liverpool Municipal Court on Thursday to answer to a charge of child endangerment. Her 4-year-old grandson is seen in the picture in the back seat of the vehicle. She pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to the maximum 180 days in jail. Pasek also pleaded no contest and was fined for disorderly conduct and guilty to a seat belt violation, plus court costs.
James Acord, the man with Pasek in the vehicle earlier entered pleas of no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and child endangerment. He was sentenced to 360 days in jail, ordered to pay a $475 fine, and had his license suspended for three years.
“They’ve taken this child into these environments where the situations aren’t very good. You’re not going around very good people when you’re doing this kind of thing,” said Lane. “This being in a car, he’s completely at the mercy of whatever that driver does. If that driver goes over a hill, his life is in their hands.”
The child’s image in most published copies of the photograph, including ours, has been edited out. However, it was not blurred in the original picture posted to the police department’s Facebook page. Lane believed the child’s emotionless expression was the most powerful message in the picture. He said the child never showed any signs this was abnormal for his home life.
“If you blurred out that face you’re losing the impact of the picture of how innocent and helpless he is in that situation,” Lane explained. “That’s not just a one time deal. That kid’s dealing with that on a day to day basis. They’re chasing that high and they don’t just get high one time a day.”
The boy has been removed from the situation according to Lane. The chief said he’s now been placed into protective care and will hopefully have a much safer and pleasant environment than the one he was previously in.
Lane hoped the picture would shake the public to attention and prompt more people to take a closer look at just how bad the situation had become.
“It’s just a terrible thing to think about, but that’s reality,” he said. “It hurts and people don’t like it, but that’s the way it is and we’ve got to learn to deal with it or it’s not going to get better. We’re going to have more of this.”