EAST LIVERPOOL, OH (WSVN) — A 4-year-old boy from Ohio whose photo went viral after he was discovered in the backseat of a vehicle with two overdosed adults has found a new home.
According to FOX 8, NBC News reported that the little boy will be living with his great-aunt and great-uncle in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
He will be living with these relatives while his grandmother, 50-year-old Rhonda Pasek, awaits trial on public intoxication and child endangerment charges.
Pasek was later identified as the woman shown in the disturbing photographs. The driver of the vehicle has been identified as James Acord, whose relationship to the child is unknown.
Related: Ohio police share dramatic photos highlighting consequences of heroin abuse
Last Wednesday, the East Liverpool Police Department received reports of an incapacitated adult in a vehicle. When they arrived to the scene, they were shocked to encounter an unconscious couple in a vehicle, high on heroin, with a little boy in the back seat.
The sight was so shocking to bear, that the police department felt the photographs taken of the scene should be shared with the public as a public service announcement to the horrors of heroin abuse.
In a detailed Facebook post written by the department, they noted that, although the images may be offensive to some, their message was too important to not share.
“We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis.” read the statement. “The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours, the difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it’s gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that.”
According to FOX 8, Acord is charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering children and slowing or stopping in a roadway. Pasek is charged with endangering children, public intoxication and not wearing a seat belt.
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