A Lexington, Missouri, mother is behind bars after a picture of her allegedly smoking methamphetamine next to her infant was posted to Facebook.
Richmond police arrested Ashley Lewis and charged her with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
The picture shows Lewis, who police identified, holding a glass pipe with a lighter underneath. A child is lying on the couch right next to her.
According to the probable cause statement, Lexington police were forwarded the picture. The caption underneath read:
“Please help my friend Ashley Lewis and I stop using meth. We can’t even stop if there is a baby around. We really need help! SHARE THIS POST IF YOU WANT THIS BABY GIRL TO LIVE A BETTER LIFE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH METH”
Police officers interviewed witnesses who confirmed Lewis was smoking meth at her apartment in front of her baby. Officers also matched her apartment interior to the interior shown in photographs.
Getting help
41 Action News spoke to First Call about the photograph.
Suzanne Rutter is a family services counselor at First Call and said she was not surprised but called the action “extremely dangerous.”
If a parent is “using in front of the children, the children are automatically assuming that it’s normal to be using substances and they don’t learn appropriately about coping,” Rutter said. “They are watching their parents and their loved ones use substance to cope with their problems.”
When dealing with addiction, counselors and police officers say the most important thing is to get that individual help immediately.
“So many people are going to look at this picture of this woman and automatically assume she is a horrible person, this criminal who should have her child taken away,” said Rutter. “But the reality is, it is a disease. She is suffering from a very, very serious disease that a lot of people suffer from. She is not making a conscious choice to use that drug in front of her child. She has been completely taken over by addiction.”
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