Dan Stamm

‘Depraved' Mother Injects Teenage Daughter, Friend With Heroin: District Attorney

A Pennsylvania mother faces drug and child abuse charges after authorities say she injected her 14-year-old daughter and the girl's 16-year-old friend with heroin.

"Supplying anyone with heroin is a potential death sentence, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. "Injecting children - including your own daughter - with heroin demonstrates depravity that defies belief."

Hogan announced Monday the arrest of Jessica Riffey, of Telegraph Road in the Honey Brook section of West Caln Township, after police went to check on the 34-year-old mother's home on Oct. 1. Riffey's 14-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old boy told township police that on multiple occasions since August Riffey gave them heroin - even occasionally shooting up the children in the past month by tying the draw string of a sweatshirt around the teens' arms to bring out their veins, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Riffey admitted to injecting the teens no more than three times in the presence of her boyfriend, Jameson Burn, said police.

Online court records didn't list a defense lawyer to comment on the charges.

The teens also told investigators that Burn supplied them with heroin that they snorted while in Riffey's bedroom, said the affidavit.

After she was unable to post bail, a magisterial judge sent Riffey to county jail to await a preliminary hearing on Friday on 13 counts including drug possession, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment, court records said.

Burn also faces a slew of drug and child corruption charges, according to court records.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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