/ David Pescovitz / 9:38 am Wed May 11, 2011

Minnesota "ball slasher" busted again

Christopher Neil Bjerkness, 33, was arrested in Duluth, Minnesota for breaking into a physical/occupational therapy treatment facility with the reported intent to slash the large exercise balls there. Why would he be suspected of wanting to do that? Because he's been busted for doing it before. Twice. According to the Duluth News Tribune, it's a "sexual fetish." From the Duluth News Tribune:
Images Blue-Exercise-Ball In 2009, Bjerkness was convicted of third-degree burglary after he admitted breaking into the SMDC-Duluth Clinic West building and slashing balls there.

He was also convicted of first-degree criminal damage to property in 2005 after getting into the Sports and Health Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth on several occasions and damaging exercise balls. He also admitted at the time to slicing into exercise balls at the SMDC Center for Personal Fitness, the Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center and St. Luke’s hospital, according to criminal complaints.

"Duluth 'ball slasher' arrested again"

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  4. While this guy sounds like a jerk, I’m relieved to say that he doesn’t hold a candle to the monster I envisioned upon reading the title of this post.

  6. First, I’m amused that the ball in the picture is blue.

    Second, is part of the fetish that he slash balls that don’t belong to him? It seems like he could easily stay out of trouble by buying his own.

    2. I thought the same thing when I read this. Time in jail or just go down to wal-mart/amazon and pick up a couple of balls for when the “urge” hits.

      1. Buy balls would be too much like prostitution. You have to meet them in their natural setting and woo them with your wit and charm.

  8. Sooo…mentally ill patient does not receive treatment for obvious anti-social disorder, instead locked in cage?
    what is this, 1510?

    1. What do you mean by mentally ill? That he suffers from a debilitating condition which prevents him from being able to control his actions. A paraphilia is not necessarily a mental illness. Just because someone is eccentric, which this man is definitely, does not absolve responsibility to not destroy other’s property. To treat people with mental illnesses as completely irresponsible non-members of a society is to remove them from society, stigmatize them and marginalize them.

      1. This is what I meant to post:

        What do you mean by mentally ill? That he suffers from a debilitating condition which prevents him from being able to control his actions? It is not clear that this is the case. A paraphilia is not necessarily a mental illness. Just because someone is eccentric, which this man is definitely, does not absolve responsibility to not destroy other’s property. Furthermore, to treat any person with a a mental illness as a completely irresponsible non-members of a society is to further stigmatize them and marginalize them. Of course this is not to say that there are not mental illnesses were the person can be expected to be held accountable for her actions, but this probably is not the case here. Furthermore, he may actually be required to get mental health counseling upon his conviction.

  11. Ah, there’s my hometown making me proud again. Why is Duluth always home of ball-slashers and deer-humpers?

  13. I know a PT who can’t bring his dog in his practice as the dog thinks the balls are the enemy, and he’ll bark incessantly at them.

  20. Very clever way to keep his disability check coming. Yep, blue balls is definitely a coming disease. I like to sit on them but they smell funny.

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