1 day Ago By Caroline Cummings
Aitkin County Assistant Attorney Sebastian Mesa sets boundaries to keep his work at the office and not let anything become personal. But one case from nearly two years ago has stayed with him, prompting him to push the Minnesota Legislature to change the law so people face tougher penalties for exposing children to fentanyl. "I try to separate how I feel from my job.
But it was something that kind of shocked the conscience," he said in a recent interview. In July 2023, first responders answered a call about a two-year-old experiencing an overdose. The child survived after three doses of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, and went to the hospital.
Later, authorities executed a search warrant at the home, according to the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, where investigators found another two-year-old in a crib close to a plate of crushed fentanyl as a ceiling fan flew above. Other children were also in the home. When Mesa went to make his charging decisions, he said he came across a gap in part of the law.
One statute made it a felony-level offense to knowingly expose children or vulnerable adults to methamphetamine — but methamphetamine only. Fentanyl was not included. Legislation drafted after he called his state senator to inform him of the loophole would make an identical prohibition for fentanyl .
It has bipartisan support. "Fentanyl particles being blown into the air where these children are sleeping—it was just like, stunning, really," Mesa said. "I was able to charge them with a gross misdemeanor—just general child neglect—but I didn't think that was appropriate to the situation or what those kids were facing, the reality of the danger that they were exposed to," he added.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse shows an over 1,000% increase in nonfatal fentanyl poisonings in children up to age 19 nationwide from 2015 to 2023. Preliminary Minnesota health department data from last year shows 20 children under the age of five were exposed to opioids, including fentanyl, and overdosed. If the bill passes and goes to Gov.
Tim Walz's desk for his signature, it would not be the first time the Legislature updated state law to reflect the reality of the fentanyl crisis. In 2023, lawmakers changed the statute for sale and possession of fentanyl to bring it in line with heroin, which had stiffer criminal penalties for having or selling smaller amounts of the drug despite fentanyl being more deadly. The quantity threshold for possession and sale of fentanyl was so high that it was difficult to prosecute drug dealers fueling the crisis, prosecutors said.
"The county attorneys are just asking for this tool in their toolbox to be able to prosecute people in the proper manner," said Sen. Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids, during a public safety committee meeting in February. Mesa contacted Utke, who represents him at the capitol, about bringing forward the bill testified at that hearing in support of it.
Sen. Sandy Pappas, a Democrat from Saint Paul, signed on afterward, noting a case in her district. There, two parents of a one-year-old who died after being exposed to fentanyl on Christmas are charged with manslaughter.
The proposal is eligible for inclusion in a larger public safety package that the Legislature is set to pass at the end of session. Mesa believes updating the law will make a difference. "Absolutely, it will change the way I do business in the sense that I'll be able to charge out those types of offenses appropriately," he said.
"And I think other prosecutors will also jump at that opportunity because, again, it just makes sense to hold people accountable for putting a child in danger that way." Caroline Cummings is an Emmy-winning reporter with a passion for covering politics, public policy and government. She is thrilled to join the WCCO team.
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