Couple Accused of Waiting 5 Hours to Call Police After Kids Ingested 20 Hemp Gummies and Fell Asleep

A man and woman in Kentucky have been arrested after the woman’s two children ingested about 20 hemp gummies, and they allegedly waited five hours to alert authorities.

Sean East is currently being held at the Fayette County Detention Center on a $20,000 cash bond. He was taken into custody on Wednesday, October 14, and charged with three counts of criminal abuse or neglect of a child in the second degree.

Meanwhile, WDKY reports that Courtney Johnson was arrested for the same incident back in July. At the time, the outlet reported that police got a call about two children, roughly ages 3 and 4, who ingested hemp gummies left out by Johnson.

At the time, Johnson said that she opened a new bottle of 25 hemp-infused gummies and took one before going to sleep. She neglected to put the bottle away in a place where the children could not reach them. As a result, as she slept, the kids reportedly took 20 of the gummies and were found unconscious the next morning.

According to Law & Crime, Johnson said she found the kids had taken the gummies around 7 a.m. but didn’t call police until noon. However, after months, investigators learned that, although Johnson took responsibility for leaving the gummies out, it was later learned that East was allegedly the one who did it.

Investigators searched their cellphones and reportedly found text messages showing him taking responsibility for the kids eating the gummies. The outlet reports that, regardless of which adult left the gummies out, they both decided not to involve authorities for hours.

There is no public plea information available for either Johnson or East at this time.