CLEARFIELD – A DuBois man pleaded guilty during a special session of sentencing court Monday for giving a 10-year-old boy marijuana.
Franky Alan Crandell, 35, was originally facing a felony charge of endangering the welfare of children but pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced him to serve six months to one year in jail with 18 months concurrent probation.
In January, the boy’s mother, Joesy E. Gindlesperger, 31, pleaded guilty to the same charge in exchange for two years probation.
Prior to sentencing, Ammerman reviewed the affidavit saying he was astounded that both parents were okay with giving the child the drug.
Crandell stated that the boy now has a medical marijuana card.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Feb. 7, 2023, DuBois City police received a report from the father of a 10-year-old boy and a four-year-old boy that Gindlesperger and her fiancé, Crandell, were giving the boys marijuana.
The father did an in-home drug test on them, which was positive for marijuana before he took them to Penn Highlands for a blood test. The hospital tests revealed the older boy was positive for cannabinoids but the other was negative.
In an interview with investigators, Gindlesperger explained that her 10-year-old son smoked marijuana and consumed marijuana gummies with Crandell because he has ADHD and did not like taking his regular mediation.
She said the couple “looked up information on the benefits of medical marijuana” and thought it could help him. She made an appointment with a doctor to see if the boy could get a medical marijuana card, she stated.
Gindlesperger also claimed the father knew about this and agreed to it. She added that he had even observed their son consuming it.
When Crandell was questioned, he also stated both parents had agreed for him to provide the boy with marijuana products.
Because the child had trouble smoking it, Crandell said he gave him edible gummies containing THC.
He stated that he provided the child with gummies about 12 times during a three-month period.
Crandell explained he bought the products legally in Michigan and brought them back to Pennsylvania, according to the criminal complaint.
