A mother has been charged after her 8-year-son told authorities she made him and his siblings, ages 7 and 11, smoke marijuana.
Rebecca Renea Rittman, 31, of Williamsport, is facing a Sept. 2 preliminary hearing on charges of endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to the arrest affidavit, the children were around drugs between July 26 and Aug. 2 in a home where Rittman was temporarily staying.
The 8-year-old told Old Lycoming Twp. police his mother smokes marijuana from a homemade device on a coffee table that she hides when a caseworker from Children and Youth Services visits.
The boy is alleged to have told an investigator that he smokes marijuana “out of mommy’s g-station. Mom makes me do it. I don’t like it.”
He also indicated his older brother and younger sister also smoke marijuana at the home.
“We all puke after smoking [marijuana],” the 8-year-old is quoted in the affidavit. “Mom tells us puking is a good thing.”
During the execution of a search warrant at the Cogan Station house, police said they discovered a homemade water pong in the living room and other drug paraphernalia including two small smoking devices containing burnt residue.
When interviewed by police and children and youth, according to the affidavit, Rittman said that she tries to keep her kids out of the room when she smokes marijuana and tells them to leave if come in. The 8-year-old has walked in on her smoking and he knows what is going on.
The children were removed from the house for safety reasons and on Aug. 4 Rittman provided a backpack containing clothes for her daughter, police said.
As the girl was removing items from the backpack a white silicone container fell out with “come trip with us” written on it, they said. Inside was a small amount of marijuana, they said.
Rittman initially lied about the source of the marijuana but the following day admitted she was the one who packed the backpack, the affidavit states.
Rittman, who is free on $50,000 unsecured bail, admitted also smoking marijuana in the bedroom of her Williamsport home, the document states.
Court records show last November she was placed on six months’ probation on a drug paraphernalia charge.
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Not totally understanding why she packed more weed for the 7 year old...
