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Stealing Underpants Not a Good Look for Former Prosecutor

By William Vogeler, Esq. on January 31, 2019 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

"Captain Underpants" was a best-selling book series, but the underpants thing didn't work out so well for an Iowa prosecutor.

Benjamin Stansberry, 42, had his law license suspended for stealing a colleague's underpants. He will be out of practice indefinitely, and cannot return to work unless he gets professional help.

It was bad enough that he got caught in the act. Thank goodness they didn't catch him with his pants down.

Captain Underpants

Stansberry got himself into trouble when he dropped by a colleague's house and asked to use the bathroom. She wasn't suspicious then, but the aftermath seriously creeped her out.

Stansberry sneaked into her bedroom and grabbed her underwear. The woman wouldn't have known, except Captain Underpants accidentally dropped them on her driveway.

Marshall County investigators questioned Stansberry about the incident, which he denied. They searched his phone and found more evidence, so he resigned from his county job.

He later pleaded guilty to theft and paid a fine. However, disciplinary authorities weren't done with him.

"An Adrenaline Rush"

The Iowa Supreme Court suspended him with no possibility of reinstatement for at least a year. He will have to be evaluated for "fitness to practice" before he can apply for reinstatement.

It wasn't just the underpants thing that did him in. He lied about it, then later admitted it was "an adrenaline rush" that made him do it.

"Stansberry has minimized his crimes, placed blame elsewhere, and failed to acknowledge his wrongdoing," the court said.

Of course, Stansberry is no Captain Underpants. In the movie, the real one actually didn't know what he was doing.

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