Imagine you're a new mother who has just gone back to work but are still breastfeeding. So you have to lug your breast pump around. You have to take frequent breaks in order to pump, and you schedule your calls and meetings around your breaks. You have to find a private place to do it where your co-workers won't gripe -- the bathroom, maybe, or even a closet. If you're lucky, very lucky, you have a private office where you can retreat to pump in peace. One Pennsylvania woman who worked at DeSales University was lucky enough to have that. But she was unlucky enough to have John Bednarik as a co-worker. Because Bednarik apparently liked to videotape the new mom as she breast pumped.
Police arrested Bednarik, who worked as a facilities director at the college, after the 32-year-old woman, identified only as "C.S.," entered her office in order to breast pump. Sitting at her desk with her shirt up and her breasts exposed, the woman noticed a small hole in the ceiling above her desk. When she examined the hole, she saw every woman's worst nightmare staring back at her -- a camera lens. She apparently quickly dressed and ran out of the office, only to see Bednarik exiting the office right next to her. She called the cops.
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Reports say that Bednarik admitted to setting up the camera so he could watch his co-worker breast pump "for the purpose of sexual arousal and gratification." Breast pumping? Sexual arousal? This guy has major ISSUES.
And this poor woman. As if she doesn't have enough to worry about, being a new mom, being back at work and away from her baby. Then she's back into the groove with coworkers, and trying to make sure that she's still being taken seriously as a employee while breast pumping. Now she has to not only worry about a creepy coworker, but for how long he'd been videotaping her, and what he might have done with whatever film he's got. Was he putting it online? Since he's out on bail, will he be back at work with her? And, worst of all, might some coworkers look at HER as the one who instigated things since she was pumping at work? Who knows. There are some crazy people out there. Hopefully she has supportive employers and coworkers.
Do you breast pump at work? Any misgivings?
Image via zigazou76/ Flickr
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Comments 22
I also agree that to say that she set herself up for this in anyway is ridiculous! She was in her own private office.. that's more private than the bathroom! No woman should have to feel uncomfortable while pumping or nursing and I'd also like to say that most women do not think that a man they work with would be a pervert like that. Most men are appauled by nursing hence the anti-public breastfeeding crap. I get that some men have that fetish but not being able to pump in your own office is disturbing!
Creepy.. and no I never pumped at work. Im a stay at home mom
I worked at a bank while I was nursing my first. There are camera's everywhere! I pumped in the conference room. One of the other employees asked me if there was a camera in there I said, "I don't think so...they are usually visible. If there is one I don't want to know about it, I guess some guy at corporate headquarters is getting an eyeful" There was no way to access camera feeds from within the branch, everything was handled by loss prevention at corporate so if some weirdo was getting his jollys off watching the very unflattering act of having a machine hooked up to your boobs then have at it. I agree though, I wouldn't want one of my co-workers that I saw everyday watching me, that is out of line.
That is DISGUSTING. What was he charged with...what was it called?
He was charged with invasion of privacy. What a crock. A misdemeanor. Videotaping without consent is a crime, so is sexual harassment.
I too pumped in a locked office with a sign on the door. Only administration and custodial had keys. The sign didn't always work. People just forget. One day, my own supervisor needed to speak with me about something, and keyed himself in knowing I was there. Even though I was comfortable with public nursing, I was very private about pumping. Something about the mechanical machine and especially the whoosh, whoosh sound. I pumped for almost two years, and my daughter had enough milk to last through her third year. So it doesn't surprise me that it would eventually slip his mind. Most people do not pump quite that long. And, since the whole idea of pumping made most males on our administration uncomfortable, I am quite sure he didn't mean to walk in on me. He actually started talking about what he needed and was so intent, I had to tell him three times that I would come to his office when I finished pumping. When he figured it out, the look on his boyish, embarrassed face was almost worth the intrusion. LOL. Especially since I know he never actually saw anything because I always stacked lots of boxes and other items to block anyone from seeing me if they accidentally came in. Ahhhh, Good Times.
@ milberry: I agree completely