July 21, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
A 33-year-old Wisconsin man has been sentenced to 5 to 15 years in state prison for multiple charges stemming from the death of his 22-month-old son.
Jorge Suarez-Santiago of Milwaukee was supposed to be taking care of Johansy Suarez-Rivas on April 5, 2021, at a North Eighth Street home. The toddler ingested a fatal dose of fentanyl, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan.
Johansy’s mother, Jayleen Rivas-Rodriguez, 36, was sentenced May 5, 2025 to serve 5 to 15 years in prison on charges of Involuntary Manslaughter and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, according to the District Attorney’s press release.
Both parents were using drugs on that fatal day. The toddler’s mother left him in the care of Suarez-Santiago, knowing he was using drugs, according to Holihan’s statement.
There were two other children at the home, according to the press release.
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
LEHIGH COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Gavin P. Holihan
District Attorney
July 21, 2025
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a state prison sentence for a man charged in the death of his 22-month-old toddler in Allentown.
Jorge Suarez-Santiago, DOB 3/13/1992, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty on March 27, 2025 to charges of Involuntary Manslaughter, a felony of the second degree; Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a felony of the first degree; and a misdemeanor charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Suarez-Santiago was sentenced today to serve 5-15 years in prison at a hearing before Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks.
Also charged is the toddler’s mother, Jayleen Rivas-Rodriguez, DOB 4/1/1989, who was sentenced May 5, 2025 to serve 5 to 15 years in prison on charges of Involuntary Manslaughter and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
On April 5, 2021, Allentown Police were called to St. Luke’s Hospital, Sacred Heart, for a report of a toddler who was not breathing. The 22-month-old toddler, Johansy Suarez-Rivas, was pronounced deceased at a hospital a short time later.
Johansy died from fentanyl toxicity and the amount of fentanyl in his heart blood was measured at 16.5 nanograms per millimeter. A forensic pathologist opined that Johansy died approximately between the morning of April 5, 2021 and noon of the same day.
As the parents of Johansy, Suarez-Santiago and Rivas-Rodriguez had a duty of care, protection and support for their child.
The investigation revealed that both Suarez-Santiago and Rivas-Rodriguez had used heroin in the hours before their son was declared dead.
Suarez-Santiago was alone with his son while Rivas-Rodriguez left their apartment at 106 N. 8th St. for several hours that day with two other children. The Commonwealth alleges that Rivas-Rodriguez left their son in the care of Suarez-Santiago knowing that he was visibly intoxicated. Rivas-Rodriguez had also provided Suarez-Santiago with what she believed to be heroin prior to leaving Johansy in his care that day.
Rivas-Rodriguez discovered their son unresponsive after she returned home where Suarez-Santiago had been responsible for caring for the toddler for several hours.
The investigation revealed Johansy was exposed to and ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl while in the care of his parents who both consciously disregarded the high risk that their reckless use and handling of illegal narcotics was likely to cause death or serious bodily injury to their child.
The case was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Joseph Beiner and the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and was prosecuted by District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 