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DRAPER — Prosecutors say a Draper couple ran a drug distribution operation out of their home and fed their toddlers marijuana to keep them quiet, according to court documents.
Jacob Francis Sickler, 28, and Katie Jennifer Blackham, 40, were charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with two counts of child endangerment, a third-degree felony, and two counts of child abuse, a class A misdemeanor.
According to charging documents, on Aug. 13, multiple family members of Sickler and Blackham contacted the Division of Child and Family Services, which in turn called police, because they were concerned about the couple's two children, ages 3 and 4.
Sickler and Blackham were believed to be "openly using drugs in front of them, the children were losing weight, were often dirty and unkept, and were fed marijuana to keep them quiet," the charges state.
Additionally, the 3-year-old had suffered a broken leg, but her parents didn't seek help from a doctor for two days until other family members insisted upon it, court records state.
Blackham and Sickler "openly bragged about running a drug distribution business out of their home, manufacturing brownies laced with marijuana, and distributed it to customers throughout Utah County," the charges state.
The children were taken into protective custody. Drug tests performed on both children showed each tested positive for cocaine and marijuana in their systems, according to the charges.
Sickler and Blackham were booked into Salt Lake County Jail. Initial court appearances for each of them are scheduled for Monday.
