Aunt speaks out after niece's near-death fentanyl exposure at middle school in Charlotte County

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. —

The family of the middle school student who overdosed on fentanyl in a school bathroom on Tuesday said there were years of warning signs ignored that led up to this situation.

Brandy Sanders, the children's aunt, shared with Gulf Coast News that her niece is doing okay and is being monitored at a behavioral center.

She said there have been issues before, and believes not enough was done in the past to protect her niece and the girl's two siblings.

"One thing that she did say, that broke my heart, was that if one good thing came out of this, 'My dad got arrested and he's in jail now, and that means that he is safe and that he's not going to die,'" said Brandy Sanders.

Sanders said her brother Joshua Sanders has drug problems. Deputies arrested Joshua Sanders and Courtney Delaney on Tuesday after their 12-year-old daughter overdosed on fentanyl at L.A. Ainger Middle School.

Joshua Sanders appeared in court again on Thursday. A judge said Sanders can call his kids once a week with supervision. On Wednesday, a judge ruled Delaney can communicate with the kids through DCF.

"She is not fit to be seeing the kids. She mentally abuses them, emotionally abuses them, and manipulates. I think that the kids need to be in serious counseling. Their father, my brother, has shown them a terrible world when it comes down to the drugs," said Brandy Sanders.

DCF removed the girl and her two siblings from their parents' care, and they're now staying with their grandmother.

According to the arrest report, the daughter told deputies she took a bottle labeled "Fent" with her to school after taking the drug in the bathroom. A nurse did CPR, and a deputy used Narcan to revive the girl. The report notes that other students were exposed to the drug in a bathroom.

"I know that she feels ashamed that she did it. I don't think that she realizes how impactful that could have been on other students and what could have taken place," said Brandy Sanders.

Brandy said the family has been battling with DCF for about 10 years. She says she once had temporary custody of the girls because of the parents' drug use.

"Courtney would keep the kids from us and not let us have any contact with them, because of us trying to get them taken for obvious reasons. It scared us that we weren't able to see, hear, or have eyes on what's going on. So you reach a point as a family that you stop trusting DCF and pull away from even reaching out to them," said Brandy Sanders.

Brandy's biggest fear is that the kids will go back to their parents.

"Kids should not have to be put through all of this for as long as they have 10 years before we finally have results," said Brandy Sanders.

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