Gwinnett father fights back after accusations he gave infant daughter access to cream containing THC

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County father accused of giving his infant daughter access to THC cream is fighting back, telling Channel 2′s Tony Thomas that he would never hurt his child.

Just a few years ago, Thomas Looby was on top of the world.

He rang the Nasdaq bell on Wall Street as the CEO of a medical technology firm. He was engaged and the father of five, including a 6-month-old.

In May 2018, the baby’s mother took the child to the emergency room after the child became lethargic.

Tests revealed the infant had THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in her system.

“I guess you could say the baby was high,” said Suwanee police Capt. Shane Edmisten.

Looby said the tests' results shocked him.

“I think I have a very good and safe home and, you know, but that was a complete surprise,” Looby said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Atlanta protests over Jacob Blake take destructive turn in downtown
• Georgia to add $300 a week to unemployment benefits
• Husband files suit against hospital after SUV crashes through ER entrance, killing wife

He said that at the time, he was using CBD cream prescribed in California for arthritis.

Police said his daughter might have absorbed it by licking or touching his arm.

Looby said that he threw the cream away soon after the incident, according to the recommendation of a social worker.

Three months later, the Gwinnett County District Attorney charged him with reckless conduct and drug possession after his then-fiancé turned over a syringe to investigators that she said contained some of Looby’s cream.

Looby was not there at the time and said he had never seen the syringe before.

“The lotion that he insists that he uses would not have raised the THC levels of the child to where it was when he was put in the hospital,” explained Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter.

“So it all comes down to whose syringe it was?” Thomas asked Porter.

“Correct,” Porter said. “Theoretically, we could have charged them both. But based on the evidence, we believe he was the one who possessed it.”

Looby’s attorney, Chinwe Foster, disagreed.

“The only evidence that they have is hearsay evidence from someone that the police failed to further investigate,” Foster said. “This was overcharged, under-investigated.”

In June 2020, Porter wrote to Foster, offering a plea deal.

“I am prepared to accept that there was an inadvertent transfer of Schedule I, THC oil to the child,” Porter wrote.

Porter offered that if Looby pleaded guilty to the possession charge, the state would dismiss the reckless conduct charge and clear the guilty plea from Looby’s record after he completes a diversion program.

But Looby insisted that a guilty plea will damage his reputation and that he will continue to fight both charges.

“It was a simple decision for me,” he said. “I could never in a million years admit to something that I didn’t do, specifically if it involves my child.”

Looby is also in the midst of a custody battle for his now preschool-aged daughter, who he said is in good health.

“The reputation is everything that I have to build back my career and to provide for my family. And I’ll do whatever I have to fight to get it back,” he said.

Amid the declared pandemic emergency in the state court system, it is unclear when Looby’s case will go before a judge again.

Channel 2 Action News reached out to the child’s mother several times for comment on the case but did not hear back.

This dad touched his baby with THC oil on his hands; Now, he's charged with a felony Police said the baby was so sick the child????had to be taken to the emergency room. The infant's tests came back positive for marijuana.

Cox Media Group