Iowa parents accused of drugging children with melatonin, breaking child’s nose

MAXWELL, Iowa — A Maxwell couple has been accused of drugging their children with melatonin, and forcing one of their sons to be in a push up position against a wall as punishment.

On April 8 the Story County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) about a child endangerment investigation. According to the sheriff’s office, 43-year-old John McDaniel forced his son to be in a push up position against a wall and then would intentionally knock his arms out from under him, resulting in his son falling and breaking his nose.

In late April a search warrant was executed at John and Jessica McDaniel’s, 29, home. During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement seized Jessica’s phone and found photos of controlled substances and paraphernalia near the four children, all under the age of ten, inside the home, the sheriff’s office said. Law enforcement also found text messages from Jessica that indicated she gave the children high amounts of melatonin, the sheriff’s office said.

John and Jessica were both charged with four counts of child endangerment. John was also charged with assault causing bodily injury and Jessica was charged with possession of a controlled substance – marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

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