New Jersey mother left her 2-year-old with a family friend at an Airbnb. The child later overdosed on cocaine

A two-year-old boy in Wildwood, New Jersey, overdosed on cocaine while under the watch of his mother’s friend at a rental property. The child was later revived with Naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, the Cape May County Prosecutors’ Office said.

The mother’s friend, identified as 39-year-old Alexander T. Moles, has been charged in connection with the incident, which took place at an Airbnb near the intersection of 21st and New Jersey avenues on Monday, court documents obtained by NJ 101.5.

According to the Daily Mail, court documents allege that Moles had been asked to watch the toddler and other children while the boy’s mother showered, ahead of the group’s planned checkout from the property.

Mother says she noticed her son struggling to breathe after showering

The mother noticed something was wrong with her son as soon as she stepped out of the shower, court documents state. She said the boy appeared sleepy and seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Moles then drove the toddler to a nearby hospital himself. While on the way, he called the child’s mother and asked her if it would be alright for her son to fall asleep, the documents say.

The mother told him it was not alright, and she then contacted first responders, who came to the rental property. Moles told authorities at the time that he believed the child may have taken “pain killers.” Other cases have similarly raised questions about children being left unsupervised in risky situations, though the circumstances vary case by case.

At the hospital, doctors administered Naloxone nasal spray in an effort to reverse the suspected overdose, and the child appeared to respond to the treatment, the prosecutors’ office said. The boy was taken to Cooper University Cape Regional Hospital for additional evaluation, where blood testing came back positive for cocaine.

Authorities searched the rental property as part of the investigation and found a partial pill described as orange and white in color, along with several tinfoil packets labeled “tapentadol hydrochloride.” Investigators also recovered a clear plastic bag containing a white substance and several short straws, the court documents say.

Tapentadol hydrochloride is a prescription medication used to treat chronic and nerve pain. The drug is sometimes misused by people who combine it with other substances, such as cocaine, to intensify its effects. Cocaine exposure in young children has come under scrutiny in other reported cases as well, including one involving a newborn’s cocaine-related test results.

Moles, who works as an emergency medical technician for the Paterson Fire Department, was arrested on Tuesday. He faces charges that include endangering the welfare of a child, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of prescription legend drugs, the prosecutors’ office said.

He was booked into the Cape May County Correctional Facility and was released with conditions on Friday following a detention hearing. If convicted, Moles could face up to 10 years in prison, NJ 101.5 reported.

The identity of the two-year-old has not been publicly released. Details about the exact circumstances that led to the alleged exposure, including how the substances came to be in the home, have not been fully disclosed in the court documents cited by NJ 101.5.

The case remains under investigation by the Cape May County Prosecutors’ Office. No additional charges or updates beyond those already reported have been confirmed at this time.