A widely circulated video showcasing a gay couple’s surrogacy journey has ignited controversy after it was revealed that one of the men is a registered child sex offender.
The couple, Logan Riley and Brandon Mitchell, initially gained attention for a video documenting the first year of life of their newborn son.
The video, which they shared on their own social media, was intended to celebrate their growing family.
On July 27, Irish political activist Derek Blighe reposted the footage to X, drawing renewed attention and scrutiny.
“Unless a miracle happens, this child has almost no chance at a normal life,” Blighe wrote in the caption.
The post has since received over one million views.
At the time, the couple’s identities were not publicly known, and Blighe’s comments were met with accusations of homophobia.
Alliance LGB co-founder Bev Jackson responded to Blighe’s post, saying, “That is homophobic. If the child has two loving male parents, there is no evidence whatsoever that he or she will not prosper.”
Another response that gained over 200,000 likes read, “Makes me happy. That baby is going to be raised not to hate people and will be loved.”
Within 24 hours of the video gaining traction online, it was confirmed that Brandon Keith Mitchell is a convicted sex offender.
Mitchell, who currently resides in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania, is listed as a Tier 1 sex offender in the state.
He was arrested and convicted in 2016 after soliciting a 16-year-old male student while working as a high school chemistry teacher.
According to court documents from the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and the Downingtown Police Department, Mitchell sent the boy approximately 20 nude photos of himself and asked the boy to send explicit content in return.
Police recovered over 12,000 text messages between the two, exchanged between May 2013 and December 2014.
A forensic search of Mitchell’s laptop revealed hundreds of sexually explicit videos of the boy.
Mitchell ultimately pleaded guilty to felony child pornography possession and one count of corruption of minors.
He was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison but was paroled two months later.
As part of his sentence, he was required to relinquish his teaching license and avoid unsupervised contact with minors.
Mitchell went on to work as a chemist at Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing in Lancaster, a position he has held for nine years.
In 2021, he married Logan Riley, a second-grade teacher from Maryland.
The couple later moved to York County, Pennsylvania, and launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund their surrogacy efforts.
The campaign introduced both men but did not disclose Mitchell’s criminal history.
“My fiancé’s name is Brandon and he works in a pharmaceutical laboratory,” Riley wrote in the campaign.
“He enjoys politics, history, and experiencing other cultures. He values family and friends and he is excited to start our new family.”
An update to the GoFundMe in November 2023 confirmed that the couple had found a surrogate.
Riley wrote, “Our surrogate went through extensive medical and social worker evaluations in order to be approved for surrogacy. Once approved, the lengthy legal and financial process began.”
The post was signed “Future Fathers, Logan and Brandon.”
Pennsylvania law prohibits convicted sex offenders from adopting or fostering children. However, gestational surrogacy is not covered under the same statutes.
The couple was able to obtain a pre-birth parentage order, a legal mechanism that designates intended parents as the legal guardians prior to the child’s birth.
This order allowed the couple’s names to be listed on the birth certificate, despite Mitchell’s criminal background.
The Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that state law does not prevent sex offenders from gaining parental rights through surrogacy.
Unlike adoption, surrogacy arrangements do not mandate background checks for commissioning parents.
It remains unclear whether the surrogate was made aware of Mitchell’s conviction before agreeing to the arrangement.
The surrogate’s identity has not been publicly disclosed, and no statements have been issued on her behalf.
Speaking to Reduxx, Helen Gibson of the UK-based group Surrogacy Concern called the situation “deeply concerning” and urged local authorities to investigate.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first case of a sex offender procuring a child from a surrogate mother that we have come across; we fear this is the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
Gibson emphasized that surrogacy laws lack safeguards present in adoption processes.
Surrogacy Concern has advocated for a global ban on surrogacy, citing what it describes as the prioritization of adult desires over child safety.
The group argues that current surrogacy practices leave children vulnerable and that better regulation is insufficient to prevent harm.
The post ‘Deeply Concerning’: Viral Surrogacy Video Sparks Outrage After Internet Discovers One Father is a Convicted Child Sex Offender appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Jordyn M.
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