Infant tests positive for meth, Independence man caring for her is charged

A 33-year-old Independence man faces a charge of child endangerment after an infant he was caring for tested positive for methamphetamine.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Christopher L. Beauregard last week with a felony count of endangering the welfare of a child. He’s accused of possessing meth and allowing the infant to ingest it.

According to court documents, Beauregard drove the infant to North Kansas City Hospital Nov. 13 saying the 8-month-old girl was crying and scratching her face.

The child was transferred to Children’s Mercy Hospital with symptoms described as a possible allergic reaction, with hives and itching. She had abnormal tongue movements described “as if something was stuck on victim’s tongue.”

The parents told emergency workers that the infant’s lower lip was blue and she had a shortness of breath.

A urine test at Children’s Mercy indicated that the infant tested positive for meth.

A woman told detectives that she was with the child all day until she left for work around 4 p.m. The woman said the infant was fine when she left her in Beauregard’s care at a home in the 2200 block of South Evanston Avenue in Independence.

About 8 p.m., Beauregard called the woman and told her something was wrong. When she arrived home, she found the infant scratching herself “really, really bad.”

When detectives told the woman that the child tested positive for meth, she said she didn’t use the drug and didn’t know how the child would have come in contact with it.

When detectives interviewed Beauregard at the Independence police station, he told detectives that he was home with the victim and a 12-year-old child, playing video games.

Beauregard allegedly admitted to smoking meth with friends inside the house two days before the incident while watching the infant, and on two other occasions. He said he was functional and able to care for her.

After leaving the hospital, Beauregard allegedly flushed a silicon pipe down the toilet because he thought police were going to go inside the house.

According to court records, Beauregard told police he blamed himself for what happened because he didn’t pay attention.

Beauregard was in custody at the Jackson County jail Sunday on $50,000 bond.

This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Infant tests positive for meth, Independence man caring for her is charged."