A female received five years of probation following her conviction for hertoddler accidentally overdosing on fentanyl. The woman's boyfriend wasjailed last year for the same incident.
Rather than a 70-month prison term, Judge Theodore Sims placed Megan Elizabeth Meek on five years of supervised probation, despite the Washington County District Attorney’s office objecting.
The prosecutor's office stated that the 70 months—nearly six years—is typically needed under Measure 11, enacted in 1994, which mandates minimum prison terms for "serious crimes against individuals." Nevertheless, judges may choose to give a shorter sentence if they find it to be excessive compared to the offense.
In March 2023, Meek and her fiancé, Bret Mitchell Hollmann, consumed some fentanyl pills at their residence while their two-year-old daughter was present, as reported by the District Attorney's office. Meek and Hollman intended to take the young child to a babysitter so they could go shopping, making a stop at a business on the way.
When Meek came back from buying something, she put her bag, which had several fentanyl pills and other drug-related items, in the backseat, where her 2-year-old managed to swallow a few of them, as reported by the DA's office.
When Meek and Hollman reached the babysitter's location, they observed that the 2-year-old was experiencing an overdose. By the time Beaverton police arrived, the child was "unconscious, not breathing, and had no measurable pulse," according to the district attorney's office.
Meek and Hollman informed the police that their child required her stomach to be pumped after ingesting fentanyl tablets. Although officers managed to give two doses of Narcan, the toddler experienced another overdose upon arriving at the hospital because of the significant quantity of fentanyl in her body.
The toddler was given a Narcan drip for 24 hours to sustain her life, according to the district attorney's office.
Hollmann confessed to officers that he purchased the medication and was subsequently found smoking more fentanyl at the hospital while his daughter was receiving treatment, after which he was taken out of the facility. He entered a guilty plea and wasreceived a four-year prison sentence.
In May, Meek was convicted by a jury of second-degree assault.
The spokesperson for the Washington County District Attorney's office, Stephen Mayer, stated in a release that they "strongly disagree" with the ruling and intend to pursue an appeal.
"Parents and guardians who endanger children by exposing them to hazardous substances such as fentanyl must face the full consequences of the law. Without the brave efforts of the Beaverton police officers and emergency personnel from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, this child would not be alive today," Mayer stated.