Man With Ball-Slashing Fetish Arrested Again
DULUTH, Minn. (WCCO) -- A man whose self-professed fetish for slashing exercise balls with a knife -- which has gotten him in trouble with the law at least twice previously -- has been arrested again.
Duluth Police said Christopher Neil Bjerkness, of Duluth, Minn., was arrested on Sunday afternoon after he broke into Chester Creek Academy, a school connected with Northwood Children's Services.
The room he was in was meant for physical therapy, and contained a number of inflatable exercise balls. When the alarm rang and staffers arrived, none of the balls had been damaged. He was arrested soon thereafter.
Police said Bjerkness damaged a lock, so he is expected to be charged with third-degree burglary and misdemeanor vandalism.
Bjerkness pleaded guilty to burglary in 2009 after breaking into the SMDC-Duluth Clinic West building and slashing a number of exercise balls there.
He told police at the time he slashed the rubber balls to satisfy a sexual urge.
His plea agreement called for Bjerkness to spend a year at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center and participate in a sex offender treatment program.
He was also arrested in 2005 for damaging exercise balls at the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus.
Bjerkness was being held at the St. Louis County Jail.
