WATAUGA, Texas (CNN) -- Police in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, said a
videotape found in a search for stolen goods appears to show two
teenagers persuading a 2-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother to
smoke marijuana.
Third-degree felony charges have been filed against the teenagers.
"I have never seen anything like this quite so disturbing," said Bruce
Ure, director of public safety for the Watauga Police Department. "Our
children count on us to protect them; these individuals did everything
but protect these children." (Watch kids puff on apparent joint as
teens laugh )
The incident began unfolding February 22, when the Fort Worth Police
Department executed a search warrant to look for stolen goods in the
apartment of 17-year-old Demetris McCoy, the unemployed uncle of the
two children, and 18-year-old Vanswan Polty, Ure said.
Among the items recovered was
cameraequipment, Ure said. Upon looking at one of the tapes, investigators
came across "a session where these two males were providing marijuana"
to the youngsters, he said. "They were essentially trying to get them
high, laughing. The children are stumbling, falling around."
Ure said it appeared that the videotaped scene was not the boys' first such session.
The 2-year-old was holding what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette "like he's done it before," Ure said. "He's inhaling."
The boys' mother, McCoy's sister, has told police she was sleeping in
the back bedroom during the incident. She has not been charged, Ure
said.
Nor has another minor, who served as the cameraman, Ure said.
In the
video, a man puts a cigarette into the toddler's mouth. The other boy is seen smoking without prompting.
The children have been in the custody of Child Protective Services, Ure said.
_________________
Battle Record On This Site Is
4-0
_________________________________________
TRICK OR TREAT TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
