For many mums, breastfeeding is a time to bond with and feed their child. In no way should this experience be considered sexual. However, recently, a mum has come under fire for a rare crime. Apparently, she uploaded multiple viral breastfeeding video with her baby son — but took a very adult approach.
Mum uploads viral breastfeeding video with a sexual twist
34-year-old Leigh Felton, the creator of a viral breastfeeding video which landed her 10 years of jailtime. | Image Source: yahoo screengrab
34-year-old American mum and single parent Leigh Felton was penalised with 10 years’ of jail time. Felton, a piano teacher who also educates kids with special needs, received this heavy sentence for recording and uploading videos of her breastfeeding her little boy in a sexual manner.
The mum was found guilty of one crime: lewd lascivious performance, as reported by local media.
Apparently, a woman lodged a police report at the County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin. She claimed her husband bought seven recordings (which were sold online) of Felton breastfeeding her son because “both of them were nude”.
In addition, the woman was convinced her partner traveled to Florida to personally meet Felton and have sex with her.
Local media also managed to gain access to legal evidence claiming that Felton’s viral breastfeeding video was sexual in nature.
They were clearly titled sexually, with videos being named “Mommy’s a Whore” or “Good Little Boy.”
One video showed the mum”rubbing oil on herself and the child”. Another one saw her “rubbing her breasts back and forth across the child’s face”. One extreme example even appeared to show the both the mum and her son’s genitalia seemingly touching each other.
“I regret making them”
Last month, Felton admitted in court that she felt sorry for recording her viral breastfeeding video (there were 45 of them) and was “ashamed of them”.
The mum admitted that she became lonely and depressed after her son’s dad cut off their relationship. It was then that she started recording breastfeeding tutorials with her male toddler. However, once she gained the interest of male viewers, she began sexualising her tutorials.
That lifted her spirits. “Finally, I was getting attention and felt like I had some worth,” recalls the mum. “I’m not a monster.”
According to Vollrath-Bueno, from what she’s seen in 15 years of her career, incidents similar to Felton’s are “the most terrible thing you can see.”
Felton’s son now lives with his dad.
Breastfeeding is not a sexual act
A mum breastfeeding her baby is a special time to bond. It shouldn’t be used for male viewing pleasure. What this mum did can be likened to child abuse. What if a paedophile saw the video, met her and harmed and abused her baby?
This news highlights another problem, too: sexualising mothers who nurse their babies in public. We should be increasing awareness about public breastfeeding so that nursing mums feel safe to breastfeed in public.
What do you think, mums?
Source: USA Today