Boner Candidate #1: STRONG ARMED BY THE LAW
Jason Grellner waits to testify during Missouri House Public Safety Committee hearing in March 2012. A recent lawsuit accuses Grellner of coercing drug court participants into serving as undercover informants. A high-profile Missouri narcotics enforcement officer routinely forced patients in a court-mandated drug treatment program to work as undercover informants or face severe legal consequences, a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges. Kenneth Allen and Jan Allen are plaintiffs in the suit filed Aug. 1 in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis. They previously operated the Meramec Recovery Center, which served as the primary service provider for the Franklin County drug court between 2000 and 2013. The Allens allege that Franklin County Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Grellner, a former regional drug task force commander who recently lost a bid for county sheriff, exploited vulnerable people who were seeking treatment under the terms of drug court agreements that would allow them to avoid harsher punishments, such as incarceration. If these individuals didn’t cooperate, Grellner would threaten to tell the judge they had failed to meet their requirements and should thereby be expelled from the program, the lawsuit claims. Law enforcement is notoriously reliant on confidential informants to build narcotics cases. While drug courts are intended to divert lower-risk defendants into rehabilitation, some law enforcement officials have expressed concern that these programs make it harder for them to recruit informants. Some state and county drug courts explicitly declare that participants will not be asked to serve as informants, and forbid anyone serving as an informant from partaking in treatment programs. Missouri’s rulebook does not include such language. The participants Grellner allegedly targeted saw a “significant decrease” in success because they were required to “associate with other drug users/distributors, which led them to revert to the habits which led to their arrests and placement in Drug Court in the first instance,” the lawsuit states.
Boner Candidate #2: THIS IS JUST ALL KINDS OF WRONG
Typically, the miracle of birth is a very private affair, involving only the mother, father, and maybe a handful of doctors. Simone Thurbur is not a very typical person. Thurbur is a therapist and mother of four, but she’s probably best known for having more people than the entire population of California and New York City combined watch her give birth. In an interview conducted by Haley Goldberg for SELF, Thurbur explained the reasoning behind the odd birthing choice. In 2012, Thurbur gave birth to her fourth child in a stream, completely unassisted. According to the interview, she had felt inspired by a video of Russian women giving birth in the Black Sea. Here’s the explanation in Thurbur’s own words: Of course, the experience was slightly less crazy than it sounds. A week before Thurbur’s due date, she and her husband staked out the perfect stream in the Daintree Rainforest, and prior to going into labor, the couple contacted a local midwife and helicopter pilot in the area should anything go wrong. Eight hours of labor were filmed, and Thurber’s daughter, Perouze, was born healthy. But we know what you’re interested in: What’s with this video and why has it been seen millions of times? Thurbur edited the birth down to a 22 minute video and posted it on YouTube in 2013. According to Thurbur, the video was posted to show what a normal and natural birth looks like. Currently, the video has over 54 million views and over 40,000 comments. The video comes with an inappropriate content warning, and it’s warranted. You see all parts of the mother. However, the exposing nature of the video doesn’t bother Thurbur. “There’s kind of this strange anonymity even though everyone’s seen me naked and it’s like, ‘Wow, that many people have seen my vagina and my butt hole,’ but it’s so removed from me,” she said. Thurbur believes that people are drawn to the humanity and experience of the video. If this is an experience you want to have for yourself, then we’re not stopping you. Just make sure your boss isn’t watching before you press play.
Boner Candidate #3: THANK GOD THIS DIDN’T RUIN HIS LIFE
An 18-year-old Massachusetts man accused of raping and sexually assaulting two unconscious classmates in April will serve two years of probation. The case against David Becker was continued without a finding in Palmer District Court last week. The case will be dismissed if Becker complies with probation. Becker’s lawyer says his client can now “look forward to a productive life without being burdened with the stigma of having to register as a sex offender.” Becker can serve the two years of probation in Ohio, where he plans to attend college. Becker was charged with two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault. Prosecutors allege the former East Longmeadow High student assaulted two classmates at an April 2 house party. Prosecutors had recommended Becker serve two years behind bars.
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