Forensics found traces of the Class A drug in the child’s bottle and sippy cup.
A Scots football coach living in the US has been accused of allowing a two-year-old child to ingest cocaine through a sippy cup.
Alan Bromly, 33, was arrested by police officers in Chester County, Pennsylvania, following an incident in which a young boy fell ill. Paramedics were called after the child started suffering seizures and became unresponsive on May 29 this year.
A police report states he was rushed to hospital where his condition improved but tests showed cocaine was present in his system. Officers took fluid samples from a sippy cup and a baby bottle from a property where Bromly was living which both tested positive for the Class A drug.
Bromly, originally from Edinburgh, is facing charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and recklessly endangering another person by providing them with a liquid nourishment containing cocaine.
He appeared at Chester County Common Pleas Court earlier this week where a request for him to be allowed to travel back to Scotland while he awaits trial was refused. Bromly, who denies the charges, moved to the US more than a decade ago and has held a number of positions at youth soccer academies.
In an affidavit regarding Bromly’s arrest, Detective Sergeant James Hall, of Uwchlan Police Department, said: “Officers and personnel from the Uwchlan Ambulance Corps were dispatched for an unresponsive two-year-old male. I obtained a search warrant for Alan Bromly’s residence. During the execution of that search warrant, several items of evidentiary value were seized.
“Two items of particular interest were fluid samples taken from a sippy cup located in the coffee table in the living room and a baby bottle located under the bed in the master bedroom. These samples were sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Lima Regional Laboratory. Both samples tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
“The victim is a two-year-old child, incapable of preparing his own liquid nourishment. The presence of cocaine in his sippy cup and bottle speaks to a deliberate act committed by the adult.”
Bromly’s lawyer Evan Kelly, of law firm Bellwoar Kelly, said his client intends to fight the allegations against him in court. He said: “The case against Mr Bromly is based on a number of false assumptions.
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“First, that Mr Bromly would ever want to injure a child, second, that the tiny cocaine particles were placed into the two sippy cups intentionally and finally, that the tiny amount of cocaine residue caused the child’s seizure.”
Judge Sarah Black refused to alter Bromly’s bail so he could travel to his homeland after the prosecution raised fears he may not return to the US to face trial. The court heard he had been dismissed from his coaching jobs after his arrest and wanted to travel home to see family and try to find work.
One of his previous roles was growing the US arm of the Edinburgh-based Gold and Gray Soccer Academy. In a statement, the organisation said: “Alan Bromly was previously employed with Gold and Gray Soccer Academy USA. His employment was immediately terminated following the news of these allegations.
“Gold and Gray has a strict safeguarding policy and conduct standard across all operations and we will always act swiftly when these standards are not met.”
A spokesperson for the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said no date had yet been set for Bromly’s trial.
