A Michigan mother was sentenced to a year in jail after prosecutors said she repeatedly gave her three young children THC-infused gummies during overnight visits to keep them calm so she could have what a judge described as “personal time.”
Saginaw County Circuit Judge Manvel Trice III ordered Stephany Leanette Mogg, 34, to serve 12 months in a state correctional facility after she entered no-contest pleas to three felony counts of third-degree child abuse. The case began when the children’s father called police and later took them to be tested, and it ended with a sentence that the court said reflected both the risks of drug exposure and the repeated nature of the conduct.
The investigation started March 10, 2025, when the children’s father, who has custody, called 911 to report suspected child abuse after picking up the kids from their mother’s home, authorities said. He told investigators the children were acting unusually “giggly,” and when he asked what was wrong, they said their mother had fed them THC gummies. All three children were taken to a medical facility and tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, according to accounts of police and court records discussed in court.
In a forensic interview the following week, each child described being given the gummies more than once, investigators said. The children told interviewers the dosing began a few months after Mogg was granted overnight visits, a change that allowed her to spend longer stretches of time with them. The children were 6, 10 and 11 years old at the time, according to reporting based on court records. Authorities later sought an arrest warrant, and investigators said a warrant was issued Aug. 25, 2025, as the case moved from an initial complaint into a formal prosecution.
At sentencing, Trice summarized the effects the children reported after taking the gummies, describing symptoms more commonly associated with intoxication in adults. The judge said the children experienced uncontrolled laughing and giggling, hunger and drowsiness. He said they also had difficulty functioning at school, a detail that the court treated as a tangible sign of harm even though the children survived and did not suffer a more severe medical outcome. Trice said the fact that the result was not worse did not reduce the seriousness of giving mind-altering drugs to children.
Trice said his understanding of the case was that the gummies were used to keep the children calm so Mogg could have “personal time,” a phrase that became central to the public description of the case. Prosecutors argued that the conduct was not a one-time mistake but a repeated choice involving three children of elementary and middle-school age. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Marissa Fillmore urged the judge to impose jail time, describing the facts as severe and emphasizing that the children’s reactions showed they were drugged, not merely exposed by accident.
Mogg’s legal resolution came through a negotiated agreement. Court records show she pleaded no contest to three counts of felony third-degree child abuse, which allowed the court to treat the allegations as established for sentencing without a full trial. Trice credited her with five days already served, then ordered the 12-month term. After release, the judge ordered two years of probation and required Mogg to abstain from drugs and alcohol during that period, conditions commonly used in cases where substance use is tied to a child’s harm.
Defense arguments focused on accountability and the future relationship between mother and children. Mogg’s attorney told the court she was accepting responsibility and trying to rebuild trust with her kids, according to accounts from the hearing. Mogg had been out on a personal recognizance bond before sentencing, then was taken into custody to begin serving her term after the judge imposed the sentence.
The case unfolded against a backdrop in which marijuana products are widely available to adults in Michigan, including edible candies that can look like ordinary gummies. Even in states where marijuana is legal for adults, prosecutors and child welfare officials often warn that edibles can pose particular risks for children because dosage is harder to judge and the products can be appealing. Medical professionals also caution that children can experience stronger effects from smaller amounts, and that impairment can interfere with routine activities such as school and daily care.
Investigators said the father’s report and the medical tests provided early evidence that the children were exposed to THC. The father’s account described behavior changes that stood out immediately after the overnight visits, and the positive tests supported the children’s statements that they had ingested THC, not simply been near it. For prosecutors, the combination of the children’s consistent accounts, the timeline tied to overnight visits, and the confirmed presence of THC formed the core of the case presented to the court.
What has not been detailed publicly is how the gummies were obtained, how they were stored, or whether any packaging or remaining product was recovered by investigators. Authorities have also not publicly described the size of the doses, the number of times each child was given gummies, or whether the children were supervised by any other adult during the visits. Those specifics can matter in child abuse cases because they help courts assess the level of risk and intent, but the public record of the sentencing focused mainly on the repeated administration, the children’s symptoms, and the school impact described by the judge.
The sentencing also highlighted how custody arrangements can shape the discovery of abuse. The children’s father had custody and the children were only recently permitted to stay overnight with their mother, according to reporting based on the case file. That change meant the children returned to one parent’s home after longer time away, creating a clearer point of comparison that made their behavior seem unusual. The father’s quick decision to call 911 and seek medical testing created an evidence trail that prosecutors later used to support the charges.
In court, Trice framed the conduct as dangerous even without a hospitalization or permanent injury in the public record. The judge said it was fortunate the outcome was not more severe, a reference to the possibility of complications when children ingest drugs designed for adult use. Prosecutors argued the court should treat the case as a serious breach of parental duty because it involved intentional dosing, not neglectful storage or accidental ingestion, and because it involved three children over multiple occasions.
The case also raised broader questions about how courts handle parental substance abuse and child safety when parents have shared custody or limited visitation. Judges often weigh a parent’s progress, treatment compliance and ability to provide a safe home against the need for punishment and deterrence. Here, Trice imposed a sentence that included incarceration and a strict probation period, signaling that the court viewed the repeated dosing as conduct requiring both immediate consequences and ongoing supervision after release.
For the children, the record presented in court focused on short-term symptoms and disruptions rather than long-term medical outcomes. The judge’s remarks about difficulty functioning at school suggested the children’s impairment was noticeable beyond the home. Officials did not publicly discuss whether the children received follow-up care, counseling, or ongoing services after the positive tests, and authorities did not identify the children by name, consistent with typical privacy protections for minors in abuse cases.
Mogg’s conviction and sentence do not end the family’s legal and personal challenges. After Mogg serves her jail time, probation conditions will govern her behavior for two years, including a requirement to avoid drugs and alcohol. Courts can also impose limits on contact with children in child abuse cases, either through probation terms or through separate family court proceedings, though the criminal sentencing record discussed publicly did not outline any specific visitation terms.
The case now moves into its enforcement phase, with Mogg serving the 12-month term and the probation department preparing to supervise her after release. The next public milestone is expected to come through probation records or any future family court rulings that address visitation and custody, while the criminal court’s sentence stands as the formal judgment in the child abuse case.
Author note: Last updated February 27, 2026.