Woman sentenced to prison for endangerment over child found with heroin
Jun. 13—EBENSBURG, Pa. — A Johnstown-area woman who pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of children — over allegations that a child had heroin in her mouth — was sentenced in Cambria County Court.
Janet Marie Ruffing, 23, entered a guilty plea in March and was sentenced to 12-24 months in prison on Thursday.
Authorities alleged she found her then 1-year-old child with a stamp bag of heroin in her mouth in an incident last year.
According to a criminal complaint filed at the time, Ruffing and her then 1-year-old daughter were visiting a friend on Ragers Hill Road in South Fork on Sept. 15. She reportedly told police that she was sitting on a bed with two stamp bags of heroin and a small amount of methamphetamine stuffed in her bra when she fell asleep.
Ruffing awoke and found one of the stamp bags missing and saw a "blue paper" hanging from the girl's mouth, according to the complaint. She allegedly told police that the blue paper was the missing stamp bag and was full of powdered heroin.
The complaint said that Ruffing waited until the next day for the child's father to arrive to contact 911.
