Hollingshead Found Guilty
A woman who abused fentanyl while pregnant and then gave birth to a drug addicted baby for the second time now faces time in prison after being found guilty by a jury.
In Common Pleas Court it took a jury one hour to find Tara Hollingshead guilty of corruption with drugs.
She now faces 11 to 16 and a half mandatory years in prison.
Hollingshead was pregnant with her baby last May when she tested positive for fentanyl. The Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office said to their knowledge, this is the first time in Ohio the law has been applied to a pregnant woman whose corruption with drugs was self-administered.
Hollingshead’s attorney argued during pre-trial motions that the law did not apply where a mother injected herself with the drugs but only applied when a different person gives drugs to a
pregnant woman.
Those motions were denied by Judge Kelly Cottrill but are expected to be a central feature of
upcoming appeals.
The Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office said their hope is other courts correctly interpret this law as did the trial court by upholding the conviction of Hollingshead.
