WELLSBURG — Two separate Brooke County cases involving child neglect resulting in injury or risk of injury were heard by 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Ronald Wilson on Friday.

Candace Gampolo, 34, of Toronto, was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison for the charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, to be followed by one year of supervised probation, while a charge of child neglect creating risk of substantial injury or death was suspended.

Under state law, the latter charge carries a lesser sentence: one to five years in prison and a fine not less than $1,000 and not more than $3,000.

Gampolo also will be required to register on the state’s child abuse and neglect registry.

It was noted failure to comply with the terms of her probation could lead to Gampolo being sentenced for the child neglect charge.

Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Barki had sought penalties for both crimes for her.

He told the court when Gampolo was stopped in her vehicle by Brooke County sheriff’s deputies on June 21, 2023, she told a teenage passenger to conceal cocaine within her body.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the practice, known as “body packing,” can result in intestinal obstruction and death from cocaine intoxication.

“Her actions were unconscionable,” said Barki, who added Gampolo used the teen “as a drug mule to avoid detection and arrest.”

Sheriff’s deputies reported the teen admitted to having the drug inside her body while marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found inside the vehicle.

While seeking probation only for his client, attorney John Jurco told the court Gampolo regretted her actions, which resulted in charges being filed against the teen through the juvenile justice system, and has accepted responsibility for the crimes.

In another case, Wilson ordered a Nov. 1 hearing for Jacob Fluharty, 35, of Follansbee, who has pleaded guilty to child neglect resulting in injury.

Under state law, the crime has potential penalties of one to three years in prison and a fine not less than $100 and no more than $1,000 or up to five years in jail.

Also representing Fluharty, Jurco presented testimony that Fluharty has undergone counseling in anger management and attended classes in parenting and lives happily with his wife and their three children.

He added Fluharty also will be required to register with the state child abuse and neglect registry.

Brooke County Assistant Prosecutor Allison Cowden has sought the maximum sentence for Fluharty.

She said the victim, who is no longer in Fluharty’s care, had suffered from mental health issues resulting from past abuse under another’s care.

Cowden said Fluharty had failed to prevent his wife, Brittany, from physically abusing the child while striking the child multiple times himself, causing the child’s mouth to bleed more than once.

A case against Brittany Fluharty, 30, of Follansbee, is pending in circuit court.