A city man serving a lengthy prison term on child endangerment charges after his girlfriend’s toddler ingested some of his methamphetamine has lost the appeal of his conviction filed last year before the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Kenneth Lee Lampenfeld, 32, is incarcerated in SCI Huntingdon, where he is serving a sentence of five to 15 years after being convicted by a Blair County jury of endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

The victim in the case was the 15-month-old child of Lampenfeld’s girlfriend, who was living with him on the 300 block of 14th Street.

The mother, Sarah Ann Sibold, moved in with Lampenfeld in August 2023, and according to an interview she had with a child welfare caseworker, Lampenfeld “struggles with methamphetamine use and has pressured (her) into using it as well.”

He had the habit of placing his meth on a leaf-shaped dish in the living room of their home.

The interview with the caseworker for Blair County Children, Youth and Families indicated the child’s mother would often remove the plate and put it away so the child could not get to it, but on Sept. 23, 2023, the mother’s baby girl “was playing in the living room, got into papers and had seizures,” the Superior Court stated.

Lampenfeld and the mother took the child to the Emergency Department of UPMC Altoona and after testing, it was determined the child had ingested methamphetamine.

The Superior Court reported that Lampenfeld became irate, stating the findings were erroneous.

He allegedly questioned the doctor’s expertise.

UPMC personnel recommended the child be transported to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, hospital police and Altoona police were summoned and Lampenfeld was escorted from the ER.

Both Lampenfeld and the mother were interviewed by police and a search warrant was issued for the home.

Police found methamphetamine residue on the leaf-shaped plate, as well as syringes and a spoon.

Zip-top bags were also found in a second bedroom of the home that was occupied by another couple.

Lampenfeld, through Hollidaysburg attorney Phillip P. Robertson, challenged his convictions, contending the evidence was insufficient to convict him on the charge of endangering the welfare of children.

The defense argued that according to the law, it had to be shown that he was a parent, guardian or other person supervising the welfare of a child under 18 years of age who violated his duty of care and protection of the child victim.

According to the defense, no evidence was presented to the jury that would show Lampenfeld served in any of those roles at the time the toddler ingested the methamphetamine.

The child that day was under the supervision of the mother, according to the defense.

Superior Court Judges Judith F. Olson, Alice B. Dubow and John T. Bender in their opinion issued late last week disagreed with the defense argument.

The mother testified Lampenfeld was her boyfriend and that she, her daughter and Lampenfeld all slept in one room and spent time together in the living room.

Lampenfeld, it was testified, helped the mother supervise the child, fed the child daily, corrected the child and would take the mother and child to the store and to a park.

The mother related that Lampenfeld “thought (of her child) as a stepdaughter.”

Lampenfeld was so attentive to the child while in UPMC that the nurse involved in the case thought he was the father.

“To the extent (Lampenfeld) argues that the child was under the supervision of the mother when (the child) ingested the methamphetamine, such that his conviction for EWOC cannot be sustained, we reject this contention,” the Superior Court panel stated.

“The sufficiency challenge fails,” the panel concluded.

The mother was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Blair County Judge Jackie A. Bernard, who presided over both cases, sentenced Sibold to seven years’ probation.