Man faces jail time for child neglect

NORRISTOWN » A Pottstown man whose 21-month-old child was found unattended, wrapped in electrical cords after apparently ingesting a prescription drug while the pair was at a Royersford residence potentially faces prison time for child neglect.

Gary L. Mastrippolito, 42, who listed an address in the first block of West Third Street, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to charges of endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the March 2016 incident at a residence in the 100 block of Second Avenue in Royersford.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill will

sentence Mastrippolito at a later date after court officials complete a background investigative report about Mastrippolito.

“He was supervising a child under neglectful or hazardous conditions,” said Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan, who vowed to seek a state prison term against Mastrippolito. “Any time a child that age is ingesting any amount of prescription drugs it’s obviously a recipe for disaster but luckily in this case it was avoided.”

Fortunately, Royersford police, who were alerted to the unattended child by a concerned Meals on Wheels delivery person, were able to take the little girl into protective custody before she could suffer serious harm.

Mastrippolito remains in jail while awaiting sentencing as he is currently serving a 1-to-2-year prison term imposed against him in February on a charge of reckless endangerment

stemming from a separate incident involving the same child in September 2015, according to court records.

“I’m going to be seeking additional jail time,” Ryan said. “I think this merits a state sentence based on his conduct, not just standing alone, but considering that there had been a prior incident involving the same child.”

Mastrippolito, according to court documents, showed up at the Royersford residence of an acquaintance with the child in the early morning hours of March 17, 2016.

Royersford police responded to the borough residence for a report of an unattended child about 11:25 a.m. March 17. When police had no response to their knocks at the door they entered the residence and observed the child “sitting on a pillow, wrapped up in multiple electrical cords,” which were still plugged into a power strip under a table, and multiple pill bottles on the floor near the child.

The child had a saturated diaper and police also observed

an open pocket knife near her. Mastrippolito who appeared to be sleeping, awoke as police took the little girl into protective custody and removed her from the home. At that time, Mastrippolito told police he had been asleep for only a little while, according to the criminal complaint filed by Royersford Police Officer Thomas Godin.

“I also removed two small rubber bands inside (the child’s) mouth…and could present a choking hazard to the child,” Godin alleged.

Police subsequently noticed the little girl appeared to have muscle weakness and coordination issues and was slow to react to commands. Members of the county Office of Children and Youth Services took the child to Pottstown Memorial Medical Center for evaluation. Blood tests determined the child had ingested the anti-anxiety drug Clonazepam, a controlled substance which had not been prescribed for the child, according to court documents.

Police estimated the little girl had been unattended for

several hours while inside the Royersford residence.

Fortunately, the child did

not suffer any long-lasting or permanent injuries.

“But the consequences

could have been far more serious and dire than what did occur,” Ryan added.