By Sarah E. Burger · November 2026
How the US~Observer and Michael Quiel helped clear Sarah E. Burger of a false felony charge in Effingham County, Illinois
Every charge against me has been dropped. I am free. And I am stating this clearly and without any hedging: the credit belongs entirely to Michael Quiel and the US~Observer. No one else.
On the night of May 8, 2024, Deputy Jonathon Torbeck stopped me on I-70 in Effingham County while I was driving a California-plated rental. There was no traffic offense. The stop was a fishing expedition. I was charged with a Class 4 felony for a controlled substance that was not mine. I have no priors. I denied ownership from the beginning. My husband and I both maintained our innocence. We waited for the cameras, the fingerprints, and the DNA testing on the packaging. None of it was ever produced. State’s Attorney Aaron C. Jones chose to prosecute while burying the evidence that could have ended the case.
The system was prepared to let it stand. Motions were filed. Phone calls were made. Nothing moved the case. Then Michael Quiel and the US~Observer investigated and published the facts. They named the officials. They put the pretext stop, the conflicting weights, the clean record of a 52-year-old woman, and the decision to charge first and hide the proof into the public record. They did not soften the language. They did not protect anyone. Their reporting created the scrutiny that a quiet docket never would have produced.
I give Michael Quiel and the US~Observer 100 percent of the credit. Not partial credit. Not shared credit. All of it. The charges are gone because they refused to look away. Their work did what the system would not do. They forced the light onto a case that was being buried. Without them, this would still be hanging over me.
If you are facing false charges, if evidence is being withheld, if officials are counting on your silence, contact the US~Observer and talk to Michael Quiel. They do the work that defense attorneys cannot do and that the system will not do. They gave me my freedom. They will fight for others the same way. I am living proof.
With absolute and exclusive credit, Sarah E. Burger Effingham County, Illinois
