BETHEL — A Bethel couple have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after their infant son was exposed to fentanyl, according to Chief Deputy James Urquhart of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.
Robert Pilgrim, 38, and Echo Dunn, 27, were charged after the Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a 7-month-old boy was choking at a Mason Street apartment.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to experts.
After law enforcement officials arrived, they discovered the infant had been exposed to fentanyl, believed to have been on a straw in the bed Pilgrim and Dunn share, according to Urquhart.
The infant was administered Narcan by rescue workers and taken to an area hospital. The child has been taken into the temporary custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Narcan is a medication designed to quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Urquhart said Pilgrim and Dunn are expected to receive a court date soon.
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