Father pleads guilty after boy, 5, accidentally ingests meth in Trotwood

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

A man pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after his 5-year-old son accidentally ingested methamphetamine more than a year ago at a residence in Trotwood.

Joseph Lee Clark, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to one count of misdemeanor child endangering, according to plea documents filed Tuesday.

He faces up to six months in jail.

Clark was indicted by a county grand jury in August for a felony count of endangering children.

His 5-year-old son was taken Dec. 15, 2022, to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where he tested positive for meth, said Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan.

“Police were notified and the subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant had given the child a soda bottle to drink earlier that day and that soda bottle also tested positive for methamphetamine,” he said.

Clark, who is no longer in custody, will be sentenced Feb. 27.

Joseph Clark

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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