Former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton (R) "was charged with felony assault that allegedly happened during an S&M session gone wrong,"

from Daily Kos by Steve Singiser http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/8/812022/-Prominent-Missouri-Republican-Charged-in-Bizarre-Sex-Case?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

In the annals of American/Republican sex scandals, this definitely qualifies as one of the strangest cases:

Former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton (R) "was charged with felony assault that allegedly happened during an S&M session gone wrong," reports the Riverfront Times.

Reports say Jetton told the woman to use the safe words "green balloons" to make him stop but she was apparently drugged, fading in-and-out of consciousness and unresponsive.

According to David Catanese, the complaint filed by the woman in question alleges a spiked drink, a brutal bout of violent sex punctuated with punches thrown, and a rather remorseless Jetton after the fact:

"(The woman) said she did not see him pour the wine because she did not follow him into the kitchen, but he returned to the living room and handed her a glass of wine. (The woman) remembers watching a football game and said once she finished the glass of wine, she began 'fading' in and out and remembered losing consciousness several times during the evening," wrote Detective Bethany McDermott in her report.

McDermott reports that Jetton and the woman agreed on a safe word of "green ballons" to use as a stop word during intercourse.

"(The woman) recalls Jetton hitting her on the face very hard. She then remembers waking up, lying on the floor and Jetton was choking her. (The woman) said she did not know what happened with her memory because she had been drunk but had never had the blank spots in her memory," McDermott reported.

"(The woman) said Jetton stayed the night with her and when he woke up he gave her a kiss and said, 'You should have said green balloons.' Jetton left the woman's residence and had not returned," McDermott added.

Jetton, perhaps unsurprisingly, is denying the allegations. Today, he shut down the political consulting firm he began after leaving the Missouri legislature in 2008. His lawyer, Stephen Wilson, made a brief statement today on the matter:

"Mr. Jetton was shocked and surprised when first advised of the allegation made against him. Now that a complaint is filed in court, Mr. Jetton's only comments are that he is not guilty, and will vigorously defend this allegation in court and not in the media."

Jetton turned himself in to Cole County authorities Monday evening, and immediately posted bond. The charge is felony assault.

Update: Fired Up Missouri has been all over this story, for instance covering which other Missouri Republicans had employed Jetton as a consultant. - Laura Clawson