MAN RECEIVES CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE AFTER DAUGHTER DRINKS DATE-RAPE DRUG

Girl, 3, Found Bottle Laced With Drug After Father Returned From Party

The father of a three-year-old girl who drank from a water bottle laced
with the street drug GHB has received a conditional discharge in Vancouver
provincial court.

Vancouver police initially claimed the 33-year-old father of two left a
water bottle containing GHB on the kitchen counter after returning home
from a party last December.

The man's infant daughter found the bottle and drank from it the next
morning, and at about 9 a.m. she began to choke and had a seizure.

When the father told his wife that the toddler may have had access to the
drug-laced bottle, she immediately called 911.

The child was rushed to Children's Hospital, where she improved
dramatically. She later showed no side-effects.

The lawyer told the court that the man stored the bottle behind a couch
after returning from the party, but his daughter found it and drank it.

The man admitted making an error in judgement and has voluntarily attended
family counseling.

The man pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawfully causing bodily harm. He
was sentenced to 50 hours of community service, including 10 hours talking
about the dangers of drugs, as part of the sentence.

GHB -- gamma hydroxybutyrate -- is used as a party drug to reduce
inhibitions and sexual enhancement. It has also been called a date-rape drug.

The man's name was not released in order to protect the daughter's identity.