Utah father who fed newborn drugs pleads guilty, police say

Police say a Utah man accused of giving his newborn baby an addiction treatment drug has pleaded guilty.

The Deseret News reports 29-year-old Colby Glen Wilde admitted on Tuesday to second-degree distribution of a controlled substance and third-degree child abuse. Additional charges were dropped as part of the plea deal. The baby’s mother, 26-year-old Lacey Dawn Christenson, faces identical charges in an ongoing case.

Police say the parents feared the child was born with an opiate dependence, so they gave her the drug to hide withdrawals.

Court documents state two other children living in the accused parents’ home tested positive for methamphetamine in their system as well.

Wilde’s next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.