Woman broke into home 'and tried to breastfeed stranger's baby'

Authorities said that a misdemeanor charge was filed against a woman after another woman accused her of coming into her eastern South Dakota home and attempting to feed her infant.

The mother called 911 around 5 a.m. on Sunday to report that a woman she didn't know had entered her home in Brookings and tried to breast feed her 2-month-old child, Brookings Police Lt. Derrick Powers said. The woman then allegedly treated the home as her own until police arrived.



"After (the resident) called police, she found the suspect lying in her bed," Powers said, adding that alcohol may have played a role in the incident. But the 24-year-old woman taken into custody, Rebecca Silva of Brookings, denied the allegations. She said that she never tried to feed the infant and that she had been invited into the home, saying she'd met the woman the night before.

"I did not break into her house. She invited me in. She gave me her pyjamas. She lied to the cops that I broke into her house. I did not try to feed her baby. That didn't happen," she said, noting that she was only cited for unlawful occupancy. She said she remembered having an argument with the woman, who told police she was awoken by dogs. Silva was charged with unlawful occupancy, which is a misdemeanor, and released on her own personal recognizance. A court date has been set for April 30.