Out Of The Blue Podcast

In 2018, I was wrongfully accused of rape. The accusation was false. I had no criminal record, no history of violence. But the moment I was arrested, my career vanished, my savings were destroyed, and I became a pariah.For four years, I fought the charges. In 2022, a jury deliberated for only minutes before finding me not guilty. But by then, the damage was catastrophic and irreversible.This Substack chronicles my story: the false accusation, the legal battle, the media frenzy, and the devastating consequences of being publicly condemned before being proven innocent. I’ll share the full account that was never heard outside the courtroom, examine how accusations become convictions in the court of public opinion, and explore what happens when that slippery word “alleged” gets lost in the hysteria.I spent 45 years at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, rising from teenage performer to Artistic Director. I built a career as a consultant, speaker, and writer. And in an instant, all of it was gone. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outofthebluepodcast.com/subscribe

(This is an edited episode that originally streamed in March 2025, as episode 6.)In 2018, police arrived at my home with an arrest warrant for two counts of Federal Sexual Misconduct. The accusation was false. The evidence would eventually prove it. But none of that mattered as I was processed and locked in a concrete cell.This isn’t a story about heroic resilience or finding silver linings. It’s about the actual experience of wrongful incarceration: the panic attacks, the institutional indifference, the way time distorts in a windowless cage. About a kid covered in tattoos who s**t-talked by day and wept at night. About discovering that small acts of service—even cleaning a shower no one asked you to clean—can be a path back to yourself.I spent four days and three nights in Scott County Jail. I missed my 60th birthday party and saw our daughter through a video screen instead of in person. This episode is the beginning of a five-year legal ordeal that changed everything.. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outofthebluepodcast.com/subscribe