Nurse fights abuse ruling, says Mucinex overdose sparked satanic hallucinations

Iowa's Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for investigating allegatons of child abuse. (Main image by Catherine Falls Commercial and Getty Images; logo courtesy the State of Iowa)

A nurse who says he overdosed on Mucinex and thought his wife was the devil is taking the state to court over his placement on Iowa’s child abuse registry.

Ryan Tagge is seeking judicial review of an April 22 decision by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to place him on the state’s Central Abuse Registry. Court records indicate that in May 2022, Tagge was charged with child endangerment, with a 1-year-old relative being the alleged victim in the case. In April 2023, Tagge pleaded guilty to a charge of simple assault and was awarded a deferred judgment in the case, sealing it from public view.

Civil court records indicate Tagge testified at a recent child-abuse hearing that on the night of May 29, 2022, he took several tablets of the over-the-counter cold medication Mucinex to get what he characterized as a “light buzz.”

The next day, Tagge’s lawyers allege, “he showed no signs of being under the influence of Mucinex for a couple of hours until he had completed (the child’s) diaper and clothing change, and (his wife) Kelly requested that the child be turned over to her for feeding. At that time, he believed Kelly was the devil and he needed to protect the child from her, so he did not release her until Kelly slapped him across the face and grabbed the child.”

Child-protective workers would later allege the evidence showed Tagge not only held onto the child while hallucinating, but shook the child while screaming, “Jesus is the answer,” an allegation Tagge denied. By all accounts, the child was not physically injured.

Tagge’s wife called 911 immediately after the incident. Court records show a Howard County deputy responded and arrested Tagge on a charge of child endangerment. The deputy later alleged Tagge said he believed himself to be an archangel.

Judge: Tagge ‘thought the world had ended’

Initially, DHHS opted to refrain from placing Tagge on the abuse registry. In August 2023, however, four months after Tagge pleaded guilty to the charge of simple assault, the state took the position that DHHS was required to change the findings of its abuse investigation to “founded or confirmed,” and was required to place Tagge on the abuse registry.

That led to a contested hearing before Administrative Law Judge Alla Mintzer Zaprudsky, who recently affirmed DHHS’ conclusion that Tagge’s conduct amounted to the denial of critical care or a failure to provide adequate supervision.

In her decision, Zaprudsky wrote that on the morning of the incident, Tagge “thought that the world had ended and that Kelly was possessed by the devil. He did not think it was safe to give her the baby. As she walked up to him, he thought it was the devil walking towards him.”

Zaprudsky concluded Tagge had deliberately taken the Mucinex to obtain a “buzz” rather than to treat a cold or congestion. That led to him suffering from hallucinations while caring for the child, whom he handled “in a rough manner, whether it be shaking or too tight a grip.” Zaprudsky determined Tagge’s conviction for assault required that his name be placed on the state’s abuse registry.

Tagge is now asking the court to issue a stay in the matter “in light of the fact that (he) is a registered nurse in the state of Minnesota and his placement on the Central Abuse Registry could potentially result in the revocation of his license” or inhibit his ability to find work in Iowa or Minnesota.

In its response, the State of Iowa is arguing that Tagge failed to file an administrative appeal of Zaprudsky’s decision within the required 14 days, and that he missed the 30-day deadline for filing a petition seeking judicial review of the matter.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2024.

Court records indicate that in recent years Tagge has worked for the Mayo Clinic and for Advanced Correctional Healthcare at the Olmsted County Detention Center in Rochester, Minnesota. His nursing license is currently in good standing with no restrictions.

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