School clinic aide accused of stealing students' Adderall and replacing it with Benadryl

Hope Schreiber
·Writer

A former Chesterfield County Public Schools clinic aide is accused of swapping students' Adderall, a prescription drug used to treat ADHD, with over-the-counter medications like Benadryl, according to police.

Caitlin Poytress, 39, has been charged with three counts of child endangerment, possession of a schedule II drug, possession with intent to distribute a schedule III drug, possession with intent to distribute a schedule IV drug, and three counts of petit larceny, WTVR reports.

Chesterfield Police in Virginia responded to a call from a parent of a student at Clover Hill Elementary School in which she claimed her child's medication had been stolen at school on May 21.

The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, believed that her son was given half an adult dose of Benadryl in place of his proper medication for weeks.

Her son, who would take the medicine around lunchtime, would get off of the school bus tired, dehydrated and "out-of-it," the mother explained.

"Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Caitlin Poytress, while a clinic aide at the school, had been stealing Adderall prescribed to students and replacing it with over-the-counter medication," a police spokesperson told the station.

"I'm still stunned obviously," the mother said. “It makes me furious someone would steal someone's prescription and drug [my son] with a dose of Benadryl that he would take only with an extreme allergy attack.”

Poytress also allegedly replaced other students' ADHD medication with Clonazepam, used to treat seizures, and Narpoxen, an anti-inflammatory drug with the common brand name Aleve, police say.

"This is just a horrible situation and it really makes you wonder what's going on in people's heads," Jennifer, a parent of a second-grade student at the school, told 8News. "I'm obviously shocked by the fact that someone who is supposed to be taking care of our children during the school day would do something like this."

"You can't just stop a prescription for a child like that at any point. They have to have that regularly," the parent added. "I hope she gets the full extent of the law."

Chesterfield County Public Schools released the following statement: "The safety and security of our students and staff is a top priority. These are very serious charges and the clinic aide will not be returning to our schools. The school division is working with Chesterfield Police on their investigation, and we continue to be in direct contact with the families of students who are involved."

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