Warning: The content in this story may be disturbing for some people.
CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Cheatham County mother is behind bars, accused of recording a sex act that also involved her 16-year-old daughter.
News 2 is not identifying the mother in order to avoid identifying the underage victim at the heart of this investigation.
Based on arrest affidavits, the alleged crime happened in September 2024.
According to Cheatham County investigators, the mother engaged in this sex act, which involved a kitchen utensil. The arrest paperwork indicates the daughter was present during the incident as it was being filmed on the mother’s phone.
Per the arrest affidavit, the mother told the daughter they needed money to pay their phone bill and there was a person interested in paying the mother for video of such an act. The daughter reportedly agreed
The paperwork says the daughter believed her mother received money via an app from a person identified only as as “Boat” or “Boatman” in exchange for the video.
According to a forensic interview completed with the girl, the alleged video lasted 15 to 20 minutes.
The National Children’s Alliance said one in every four girls is the victim of child abuse, and close to a billion children worldwide are abused.
Dawn E. Harper, CEO of Nashville Children’s Alliance, provided the following statement:
Any photography, videos, and/or live-streaming of sexual exploitation of someone under 18 is a heinous crime and taken very seriously. These images and videos are called Child Sexual Abuse Material, or CSAM.
CSAM involves a unique and harmful impact on a child due to the continual distribution and permanency of the images and videos. Once the images are online, unfortunately, they are out there for anyone to see.
As a society, we are obligated to educate ourselves and protect children from such harmful acts.
In the past, people have referred to Child Sexual Abuse Material as ‘kiddie porn,’ which connotes a casual attitude about illegal actions that can have disastrous effects on a young person, putting the child at a much greater risk of further trauma.
In an age where everyone has a smartphone at their fingertips, the need becomes that more urgent for adults to raise awareness and vigilance around this form of child abuse.
The mother in this case is currently being held without bond, pending a hearing on Feb. 11. She is charged with especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, human trafficking for a commercial sex act, solicitation of a minor, and incest, all of which are felonies
The mother had no prior arrest history in either Cheatham County or Davidson County.
Meanwhile, the teenage daughter is now living with a family member in another state.
