WATAUGA, Texas (CNN) -- Police in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, said a videotape found in a search for stolen goods appears to show two teenagers persuading a 2-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother to smoke marijuana.
Third-degree felony charges have been filed against the teenagers.
"I have never seen anything like this quite so disturbing," said Bruce Ure, director of public safety for the Watauga Police Department. "Our
children count on us to protect them; these individuals did everything but protect these children." (Watch kids puff on apparent joint as
teens laugh
)
The incident began unfolding February 22, when the Fort Worth Police Department executed a search warrant to look for stolen goods in the apartment of 17-year-old Demetris McCoy, the unemployed uncle of the two children, and 18-year-old Vanswan Polty, Ure said.
Among the items recovered was camera equipment, Ure said. Upon looking at one of the tapes, investigators came across "a session where these two males were providing marijuana" to the youngsters, he said. "They were essentially trying to get them high, laughing. The children are stumbling, falling around."
Ure said it appeared that the videotaped scene was not the boys' first such session.
The 2-year-old was holding what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette "like he's done it before," Ure said. "He's inhaling."
The boys' mother, McCoy's sister, has told police she was sleeping in the back bedroom during the incident. She has not been charged, Ure said.
Nor has another minor, who served as the cameraman, Ure said.
In the video, a man puts a cigarette into the toddler's mouth. The other boy is seen smoking without prompting.
The children have been in the custody of Child Protective Services, Ure said.
