DOCUMENT: Crime

Police: Mother Made Toddler Vape With THC

Woman, 22, arrested on child neglect rap

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Vaping Toddler

NOVEMBER 19--A Florida mother forced her two-year-old son to smoke from a vaping device containing THC oil so that the child would “sleep and eat better,” according to an arrest affidavit.

Investigators collared Kiarra Clarisse, 22, on a felony child neglect charge after her former girlfriend alerted the victim’s father about the vaping. The witness also reported that Clarisse had cancelled the boy’s medical appointments out of concern a doctor would discover THC in the child’s system.

Upon being told that his son had been vaping, the boy’s father contacted Florida’s child welfare agency and then brought the boy to a hospital, where a drug test detected THC in the victim’s system. At that point, hospital officials contacted the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

The child’s father told cops that the boy appeared “slow” and lethargic during a visit with the toddler earlier this month.

As detailed in the affidavit, Katelyn Masker, Clarisse’s ex-girlfriend, told police that she observed Clarisse put a vape pen in the child’s mouth and “allow him to smoke it, in order to get him to eat more and sleep.” Masker, 27, added that Clarisse would send her photos of the child after he used a “wax pen.”

Masker said that recently all Clarisse wanted to do was “party, drink, and work in the club.” Court records list Clarisse’s employer as Cheaters, a Cocoa Beach strip club. Masker, who said she lived with Clarisse for seven months, added that Clarisse left her child “in the care of other people in her household who are known to drink excessive amounts of alcohol.”

Clarisse declined to answer police questions, but reportedly made a “spontaneous utterance stating she smokes ‘pot’ at her residence, but did not smoke it in front of” her son, who turned two last month. Police noted that a check of the child’s medical records revealed that he had missed two recent check-up appointments with his pediatrician.

Clarisse, seen above, was released from custody early this morning after posting $3000 bond. She is scheduled for arraignment on December 15.

According to court records, Clarisse was convicted last year of drunk driving and placed on probation (the terms of which she twice violated). She is also facing trial on a felony narcotics charge stemming from a June 2017 arrest. Clarisse and the father of her son were busted after cops found two pounds of marijuana in their vehicle. Charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell or distribute, Clarisse has been free on $2000 bond. (3 pages)