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===Victim-impact statement===
===Victim-impact statement===
The victim was referred to as "Jane Doe" by police, and later signed her impact statement as "Emily Doe" for legal reasons.<ref name="Kadvany"/><ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> She read her 7,138-word victim-impact statement<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/rachelsklar/status/739548480809603072|title=Rachel Sklar on Twitter|website=Twitter|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> aloud in the sentencing phase of the trial. The ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' described the statement as a "cri de coeur against the role of privilege in the trial and the way the legal system deals with sexual assault"<ref name=":8" /> On June 3, 2016, [[Palo Alto Online]] reporter Elena Kadvany<ref name="Kadvany">{{cite web|url=http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/06/03/stanford-sex-assault-victim-you-took-away-my-worth|title=Stanford sex-assault victim: 'You took away my worth'|last=Kadvany|first=Elena|website=Palo Alto Online|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> and [[BuzzFeed]] reporter Katie J. M. Baker<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra|title=Here's The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her Attacker|first=Katie J. M.|last=Baker|website=BuzzFeed|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> published the full statement from the woman Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting.
The woman was initially referred to as "Jane Doe" by police, and later signed her impact statement as "Emily Doe" for legal reasons.<ref name="Kadvany"/> She also refers to herself as "big mama" the night of the party.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> She read her 7,138-word victim-impact statement<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/rachelsklar/status/739548480809603072|title=Rachel Sklar on Twitter|website=Twitter|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> aloud in the sentencing phase of the trial. The ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' described the statement as a "cri de coeur against the role of privilege in the trial and the way the legal system deals with sexual assault"<ref name=":8" /> On June 3, 2016, [[Palo Alto Online]] reporter Elena Kadvany<ref name="Kadvany">{{cite web|url=http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/06/03/stanford-sex-assault-victim-you-took-away-my-worth|title=Stanford sex-assault victim: 'You took away my worth'|last=Kadvany|first=Elena|website=Palo Alto Online|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> and [[BuzzFeed]] reporter Katie J. M. Baker<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra|title=Here's The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her Attacker|first=Katie J. M.|last=Baker|website=BuzzFeed|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref> published the full statement from the woman Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting.
In the statement, she detailed the negative effects the assault had on her life: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/article/stanford-swimmer-brock-allen-turner-victim-letter|title=Sexual Assault Victim Shares Powerful Letter to Her Attacker After He Was Sentenced to Only 6 Months in Jail|work=People|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref>
In the statement, she accused Brock of depriving her of things: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/article/stanford-swimmer-brock-allen-turner-victim-letter|title=Sexual Assault Victim Shares Powerful Letter to Her Attacker After He Was Sentenced to Only 6 Months in Jail|work=People|access-date=June 5, 2016}}</ref>


Doe's statement also detailed her experience being treated at the hospital for sexual assault: "I had multiple swabs inserted into my vagina and anus, needles for shots, pills, had a [[Nikon]] pointed right into my spread legs. I had [[Speculum (medical)|long, pointed beaks]] inside me and had my vagina smeared with cold, blue paint to check for abrasions."<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/06/04/you-took-away-my-worth-a-rape-victim-delivers-powerful-message-to-a-former-stanford-swimmer/|title=‘You took away my worth’: A rape victim delivers ‘powerful’ message to a former Stanford swimmer|website=Washington Post|access-date=June 5, 2016 |quote=I called myself “big mama”, because I knew I’d be the oldest one there.}}</ref>
Doe's statement also detailed her experience being treated at the hospital for sexual assault: "I had multiple swabs inserted into my vagina and anus, needles for shots, pills, had a [[Nikon]] pointed right into my spread legs. I had [[Speculum (medical)|long, pointed beaks]] inside me and had my vagina smeared with cold, blue paint to check for abrasions."<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/06/04/you-took-away-my-worth-a-rape-victim-delivers-powerful-message-to-a-former-stanford-swimmer/|title=‘You took away my worth’: A rape victim delivers ‘powerful’ message to a former Stanford swimmer|website=Washington Post|access-date=June 5, 2016 |quote=I called myself “big mama”, because I knew I’d be the oldest one there.}}</ref>


The statement also detailed the effect the assault had on Doe's ability to remain in her full-time job, which she left after the assault "because continuing day to day was not possible."<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>
The statement also detailed the effect the night had on Doe's ability to remain in her full-time job, which she left afterward "because continuing day to day was not possible."<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>


The statement articulated that "social class" should not be factored into the sentence handed down: "The fact that Brock was a star athlete at a prestigious university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a strong cultural message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class." Doe also disagreed with the probation officer's assessment that Turner had showed remorse, stating that Turner had failed to show genuine remorse and this was a factor in her anger at the proposed brief sentence.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>
The statement articulated that "social class" should not be factored into the sentence handed down: "The fact that Brock was a star athlete at a prestigious university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a strong cultural message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class." Doe also disagreed with the probation officer's assessment that Turner had showed remorse, stating that Turner had failed to show genuine remorse and this was a factor in her anger at the proposed brief sentence.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>

Revision as of 14:03, 17 June 2016

People v. Turner
CourtSanta Clara County Superior Court
Full case name People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner
DecidedVerdict: March 30, 2016
Sentence: June 2, 2016
Outcome
Turner was found guilty of the following felonies:
Count 1, Assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman
Count 2, Sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object
Count 3, Sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object
Court membership
Judge sittingAaron Persky
Keywords

People v. Turner, formally People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner (2015), is the successful prosecution of Brock Allen Turner for three charges of felony sexual assault. Turner was a student athlete at Stanford University when he was arrested on campus on charges of attempted rape.[1][2] On February 1, 2015, Turner was indicted on five charges: two for rape, two for felony sexual assault, and one for attempted rape.[3] In October 2015, the two rape charges were dropped. In March 2016, he was convicted of two charges of sexual assault and one charge of assault with intent to rape. In June 2016, he was sentenced to six months confinement in a county jail. According to Vice News, the case "became the latest, controversial episode in an ongoing debate sweeping the U.S. about rape culture, privilege in the criminal justice system, and campus safety."[4]

On January 18, 2015, Turner vaginally penetrated a 22-year-old woman with his finger.[5] According to police, prosecutors, and the jury, the woman did not have the capacity to give legal consent due to being intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness. Turner was stopped by two Stanford students from Sweden, who testified that they did so because the woman appeared to be unconscious. Turner fled, but they chased, caught, and restrained him until police arrived and arrested him on charges of rape.[6][7][8] The victim remained unresponsive for several more hours until she regained consciousness in the hospital.[9] The rape charge was later dropped by the prosecutors after reviewing results of DNA tests.[7][10][11]

In March 2016, Turner was convicted of three charges of felony sexual assault.[12][13] The convictions carried a potential sentence of 14 years in prison. Prosecutors recommended six years in prison while probation officials recommended a "moderate" county jail sentence.[14] In June 2016, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months of jail and three years of probation. The leniency of the sentence generated widespread outrage.[15] The victim's impact statement to the court, which described her suffering, critiqued Turner's actions during and after the assault and sought a longer sentence for Turner, became internationally known through news and social media. The case led to a campaign for the recall or resignation of Judge Persky.

Background

Turner is a 2014 graduate of Oakwood High School. Oakwood, located in Montgomery County, is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio.[16][17] While in high school, Turner was a three-time All-American swimmer. At the time of his arrest, Turner was a student at Stanford University, where he was a member of the university swim team.[6][8]

In Stanford University's 2015 Campus Climate Survey, 4.7 percent of female undergraduates reported experiencing sexual assault as defined by the university and 32.9 percent reported experiencing sexual misconduct.[18] According to the survey, 85% of the perpetrators were Stanford students and 80% were men.[18] Perpetrators of sexual misconduct were frequently aided by alcohol or drugs, according to the survey: "Nearly three-fourths of the students whose responses were categorized as sexual assault indicated that the act was accomplished by a person or person taking advantage of them when they were drunk or high, according to the survey. Close to 70 percent of students who reported an experience of sexual misconduct involving non-consensual penetration and/or oral sex indicated the same."[18] Associated Students of Stanford University, and student and alumni activists with the anti-rape group Stand with Leah, criticized the survey methodology for downgrading incidents involving alcohol if students did not check two separate boxes indicating they were both intoxicated and incapacitated while sexually assaulted.[18]

Incident and response

File:Brock Turner.jpeg
File:Brock Turner Sentencing Photograph.jpeg
Turner during his initial booking (left) and during his trial in June 2016 (right).

Turner was arrested on January 18, 2015, after police arrived and encountered him pinned by two Swedish graduate students, Carl-Fredrik Arndt (sitting atop his legs) and Peter Jonsson (holding his arms) along with two others, Barnett and Sinclair, helping Jonsson.

According to Arndt and Jonsson, they found Turner near a dumpster on top of an unconscious woman outside Kappa Alpha fraternity at approximately 1:00 a.m.[13] and intervened, causing Turner to run until they chased and tackled him.[6] Jonsson testified that he asked Turner, "What the fuck are you doing? She's unconscious." Turner then ran away, but Jonsson chased him, tripped him, and while holding him down, asked him, "What are you smiling for?" Turner was later arrested.[8]

Turner and his victim had both attended a party at Kappa Alpha fraternity earlier in the night. According to the police report, the morning after the incident, Turner told the police that he met the victim outside the fraternity house and left with her. He also stated he did not know her name and "stated that he would not be able to recognize [the victim] if he saw her again.[19] According to Turner's trial testimony, he and the victim "danced and kissed" at the party and both mutually agreed to go back to his room. As they were walking back, the victim slipped on a slope behind a wooden shed, and Turner got down to the ground and both started kissing each other. Turner then asked her if she wanted him to "finger" her, to which she said yes. He stated that he "fingered" her for a minute as they were kissing, then they started "dry humping". Turner then said he got nauseous and told her he needed to vomit. As Turner got up and started to walk away to throw up, he heard another person saying something to him to which he couldn't understand, then heard the same person talking to another person in a foreign language. As they grabbed Turner, Turner said he started to run away and they soon tackled him.[20] Prosecuting attorney Alaleh Kianerci and the victim have both alleged that Turner's narrative during trial testimony was fabricated.[21][22] Kianerci argued to the jury that, "He's able to write the script because she has no memory. But just because he wrote the script doesn't mean that ... knowledgeable jurors have to believe it."[21]

Turner withdrew from Stanford shortly after the incident rather than face disciplinary proceedings. On January 20—two days after his arrest—Stanford announced Turner had been banned from campus.[23] Stanford later announced that within two weeks of the incident, it had banned Turner from ever setting foot on campus again—the harshest disciplinary sanction it can impose on a student.[24]

While Turner had aspirations to swim for the U.S. National Team in the 2016 Olympics, USA Swimming stated on June 6 that he would not be eligible for membership if he sought to reapply.[25][26] On June 10, USA Swimming reiterated that Turner would never be welcome in its ranks again, per its zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct. The June 10 announcement effectively banned Turner from ever taking part in a competitive swimming event for the United States. Sanctioned meets in the United States—including Olympic trials—are only open to members of USA Swimming.[27]

Several Chinese feminists posted messages of support for the victim as well as criticisms of the judge on the internet.[28]

Indictment and charges

On February 1, 2015, Turner was indicted on five charges:

  1. Rape of an intoxicated person
  2. Rape of an unconscious person,
  3. Assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman
  4. Sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object
  5. Sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.[3]

The two formal charges of rape under California state law were dropped at a preliminary hearing on October 6, 2015,[29] after DNA testing revealed no genetic evidence of genital-to-genital contact.[7][30]

Sentencing and controversy

On March 30, 2016, Turner was found guilty of three felonies: assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. The victim's DNA was discovered on his hand.[30]

On June 2, 2016, Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in the Santa Clara County jail[31] followed by three years of formal probation.[32] With good behavior, Turner may have to serve only three months of his sentence.[33]

However, he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life[34] and participate in a sex offender rehabilitation program.[13]

Prosecutors recommended that Turner be given a six-year prison sentence. In their sentencing brief, they argued several factors merited a more severe sentence:

He purposefully took her to an isolated area, away from all of the party goers, to an area that was dimly lit, and assaulted her on the ground behind a dumpster. He deliberately took advantage of the fact that she was so intoxicated that she could not form a sentence, let alone keep her eyes open or stand. This behavior is not typical assaultive behavior that you find on campus, but it is more akin to a predator who is searching for prey.[35]

Santa Clara County probation officials, including Monica Lassettre, his probation officer, recommended that Turner be given a moderate suspended sentence with formal probation:

During the presentence interview, the defendant expressed sincere remorse and empathy for the victim...In determining an appropriate recommendation, this officer considered myriad factors, including the impact of the crime on the victim and the safety of the community. Other factors included the defendant's lack of a criminal history, his youthful age, and his expressed remorse and empathy toward the victim...Based on the aforementioned information, a moderate county jail sentence, formal probation, and sexual offender treatment is respectfully recommended.[36]

The probation report did not mention another woman who said she had been upset by Turner's unwanted physical advances at a Kappa Alpha party just eight days before the charged offense, though the reports were in the trial record..[37]

Turner's father protested the prison sentence that the prosecution wanted, saying it was a "steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."[38]

Prosecutors and victims' rights advocates have decried what they see as light sentencing.[39] Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen criticized the letter from Turner's father to the court, saying it reduced a brutal sexual assault to "20 minutes of action."[40]

Nancy Brewer, a retired Santa Clara County assistant public defender, described Persky as "respected by both prosecutors and defenders" and viewed as "a fair judge who is not soft on crime or someone who gives lenient sentences." Brewer said that Persky "carefully evaluated the evidence and did what he thought was a fair and appropriate sentence in the case" based upon the Santa Clara County Probation Department's presentence investigation report. Danny Cevallos said the judge "absolutely is obliged to consider very seriously the [probation department] report" and noted that California penal code does allow a judge to depart from the statutory minimum (two years for rape), with justifications including defendant's lack of criminal history and the effect that incarceration will have on the guilty party. Cevallos believed that while the sentence was lenient, Turner's prior clean record made him a candidate for minimum sentencing.[41]

Repercussions to the judge

Although he did not face any opposition in an election held five days after the sentencing, Persky now faces a campaign to recall him. Persky had also been a student and the lacrosse team captain at Stanford University.[42] The demands received the support of Representative Ted Poe (R-Texas), who took to the floor of the House of Representatives to condemn Turner's sentence as too lenient and to call for Judge Persky's removal.[43]

The move to recall Persky was opposed by the Santa Clara County public defender, who said she is "alarmed by the hysteria" about the Turner sentence. Santa Clara County district attorney Jeff Rosen, whose office prosecuted Turner and will not appeal the sentence, stated "While I strongly disagree with the sentence that Judge Persky issued in the Brock Turner case, I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship."[44] Danny Cevallos stated that judges are supposed to enjoy a modicum of independence from public pressure, and "there are no apparent grounds for impeachment or allegations of judicial misconduct, based on this sentence alone". Cevallos said that the recall movement "raises the question: is removing judges good for the spirit of the judiciary system, especially when the judge's sole transgression is a legal sentence" where he correctly applied the law.[45][46]

In June 2016, at least ten prospective jurors refused to serve in a misdemeanor trial for possession of stolen property where Persky was presiding, citing the judge's sentencing of Turner as a reason.[47] The following week, Rosen filed a peremptory challenge to Persky presiding over the criminal trial of a surgical nurse charged with sexual battery for allegedly touching the genitals of a patient under sedation. Rosen called his move to have the judge removed from the case "a rare and carefully considered step for our office."[47]

Revisit of previous rape case

Main article: 2007 De Anza rape investigation

Details of a prior civil case heard by Judge Persky involving similar circumstances, were revisited after the sentencing.

On March 4, 2007, three members of the De Anza College woman's soccer team alleged that, while attending a party off-campus at the home of a member of the college baseball team, they heard a commotion and knelt to look through an un-screened French door pane. They claimed to have witnessed an intoxicated, unconscious, 17-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by two or more people. They further stated that a number of other people were in the same room, observing the incident and cheering. They were told go away and the door was blocked. The women stated that they broke into the room, removed the girl, and took her to the hospital. It was found she was covered with someone else's vomit.[48] The members of the soccer team reported the incident, and the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department investigated. No arrests were made, even after a second woman came forward to say that she too had been sexually assaulted by De Anza college baseball players.[49] The results of the investigation were turned over to the Office of the Santa Clara County District Attorney.[50] The district attorney's office conducted additional investigations, and presented its evidence to a grand jury. On June 4, 2007, District Attorney Dolores Carr announced that she would not charge anyone involved in the alleged incident with a crime.[51] In 2011, Persky took over presiding a civil lawsuit that had been in litigation for three years. It was against multiple members of the De Anza college baseball team, who were accused by the underage plaintiff of gang-raping her while she was unconscious until the three female passersby forcefully intervened. During the trial, Persky decided that the jury should be allowed to view seven photos of the plaintiff taken at a party she attended approximately a year after the alleged gang rape, as per the defense's claim that this evidence contradicted the plaintiff's claims. An ABC News 20/20 episode aired on June 5, 2009, on the case.[52] The jury found the defendants not liable.[53]

Following Turner's sentencing in 2016, a plaintiff's attorney in the De Anza case criticized Persky for allowing the photos into evidence and preventing other victims from testifying. Attorneys for "Jane Doe" said the photographs were not the only evidence that Persky unfairly permitted. Four of the baseball players had invoked Fifth Amendment rights not to self-incriminate during the discovery phase of the litigation. According to a lawyer for Doe, that was a critical juncture: it prevented the victim's team from obtaining evidence that could have helped them pursue their case. The original judge in the case ruled in 2010 that if the four defendants refused to testify in that phase of the civil litigation, that would also mean that they would be prohibited from subsequently testifying in the case. The prior ruling was overturned by Persky after he took over the trial in 2011, allowing one defendant, Christopher Knopf, to testify. That was a move that Doe's attorneys say undermined the plaintiff/victim's case. One, Monica Burneikis, said “It was shocking to see judge Persky disregard that order.” “One judge completely disregarding an order that another judge has entered: yes, that was unusual.” [54][55][49]

Alcohol

At some point[when?] after police arrival, Turner had a blood alcohol blood content of 0.17%.[56] Although Turner’s blood-alcohol content was over twice the legal driving limit for drivers over age 21, he testified that he remembered what happened that night.[7] Turner cited his inexperience with alcohol as a factor in his judgement the night of January 18, 2015. Police found video evidence of Brock having drank liquor once before on December 27, 2014.[57]

The blood-alcohol content of the woman was measured at some point[when?] after police arrival as 0.24%, which is three times the legal driving limit.[56] She testified that she did not remember the events after her arrival to the party until she woke up more than three hours later in the hospital.[7]

Drugs

Evidence from Brock's phone indicates a years-long pattern of recreational drug use. Turner frequently smoked cannabis and hash oil, and was found to have texted friends about wanting to use MDMA and cocaine.[57]

Statements

Defendant's statement

After the guilty verdict, Turner maintained to his probation officer that the encounter was consensual.[58] He also gave an 11-page statement to the judge[59] that said he received verbal consent from the woman before she passed out.

According to Turner's testimony, he and the woman drank, danced, and kissed at the party. Sometime around midnight, he asked her whether she would like to go back to his dorm and she said yes. He claimed that she had slipped behind a wooden shed and then he got down on the ground with her and started kissing and fingering her until he got nauseous and decided to walk to another location to throw up.[7][60]

Victim-impact statement

The woman was initially referred to as "Jane Doe" by police, and later signed her impact statement as "Emily Doe" for legal reasons.[61] She also refers to herself as "big mama" the night of the party.[62] She read her 7,138-word victim-impact statement[63] aloud in the sentencing phase of the trial. The New York Times described the statement as a "cri de coeur against the role of privilege in the trial and the way the legal system deals with sexual assault"[15] On June 3, 2016, Palo Alto Online reporter Elena Kadvany[61] and BuzzFeed reporter Katie J. M. Baker[22] published the full statement from the woman Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting. In the statement, she accused Brock of depriving her of things: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."[64]

Doe's statement also detailed her experience being treated at the hospital for sexual assault: "I had multiple swabs inserted into my vagina and anus, needles for shots, pills, had a Nikon pointed right into my spread legs. I had long, pointed beaks inside me and had my vagina smeared with cold, blue paint to check for abrasions."[62]

The statement also detailed the effect the night had on Doe's ability to remain in her full-time job, which she left afterward "because continuing day to day was not possible."[62]

The statement articulated that "social class" should not be factored into the sentence handed down: "The fact that Brock was a star athlete at a prestigious university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a strong cultural message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class." Doe also disagreed with the probation officer's assessment that Turner had showed remorse, stating that Turner had failed to show genuine remorse and this was a factor in her anger at the proposed brief sentence.[62]

The statement was subsequently formally released by Santa Clara County[65] and was picked up by national and international media including the Washington Post,[62] CBS News,[66] Los Angeles Times,[67] TIME,[68] San Jose Mercury News,[69] Cosmopolitan[70] and the UK's Daily Mail[71] and The Guardian.[72] The letter went viral, being shared over 11 million times in four days.[73] CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield read most of the statement aloud during a 20-minute segment of CNN's Legal View.[74]

On June 16, eighteen members of the House of Representatives read the statement on the House floor. Representative Jackie Speier organized the reading to raise awareness about sexual assault, and to promote her legislation on campus sexual assault.[75] Vice President Joe Biden wrote the victim an open letter titled "An Open Letter to a Courageous Young Woman", which read in part, "I am filled with furious anger — both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth."[76]

Prosecutor's statement

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen stated that "The punishment does not fit the crime." Rosen described Turner as a "predatory offender" and stated he "has failed to take responsibility, failed to show remorse and failed to tell the truth." Rosen added, "Campus rape is no different than off-campus rape. Rape is rape. And I will prosecute it as such."[39]

Family and friends' statements

On June 4, Michele Dauber, a professor and sociologist at the Stanford Law School, who is also a family friend of the victim, posted a letter written by Dan Turner, Brock's father, asking for leniency for his son, arguing that punishment was a "steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."[77][78][79] The letter sparked outrage and was cited as an example of the prevalence of rape culture.[39][40][80][81]

Dauber also circulated, again via Twitter, a letter written by Leslie Rasmussen, a female childhood friend of Turner, that defended Turner and blamed alcohol consumption and universities for advertising themselves as "party schools".[82] The letter was met with further criticism.[83][84] The publication of her letter, in which she also said Brock came from "a respectable family," led to cancellations of her local band's engagements at a festival and clubs as far away as New York.[85]

Writing to the court and recommending against prison, Oakwood Judge Margaret M. Quinn, a retired federal prosecutor, also blamed the assault on alcohol, minimizing Turner's culpability. "He made a mistake in drinking excessively to the point where he could not fully appreciate that his female acquaintance was so intoxicated. I know Brock did not go to that party intending to hurt, or entice, or overpower anyone."[57][86]

Police reports

The Stanford University Department of Public Safety provided the initial response and investigation. A felony complaint was filed in the Superior Court for the County of Santa Clara on January 28, 2015.[87][88]

Turner had a prior campus law enforcement encounter when he was found by Stanford University police to be a minor in possession of cans of beer on November 11, 2014. He was cited as well for possession of a counterfeit Ohio driver's license. In addition, after publicized reports of the January 18, 2015, sexual assault incident, another female reported that Turner had made unwelcome physical advances toward her at a prior Kappa Alpha party on January 9, 2015.[37]

Appeal

It has been reported that Turner's legal appeal will be led by attorney Dennis Riordan,[89] who represented former baseball player Barry Bonds in a perjury case.[90]

See also

  • Ethan Couch, another convicted criminal whose light sentence spurred public outrage

References

  1. ^ Molinet, Jason (February 2, 2015). "All-American swimmer pleads not guilty in Stanford rape case". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  2. ^ Phillips, Alice (January 27, 2015). "Freshman swimmer Brock Turner faces five felony counts after alleged rape". Stanford Daily. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Kaplan, Tracey (February 3, 2015). "Former Stanford swimmer pleads not guilty to rape charges". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  4. ^ Hamze, Adam (June 9, 2016). "Stanford Rapist Brock Turner Will Get Out of Jail Three Months Early". VICE News. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  5. ^ Crockett, Emily (June 9, 2016). "Brock Turner was convicted of sexual assault but not "rape." What does that mean?". Vox. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Felony Complaint Case Summary, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara" (PDF). Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Miller, Michael E. (March 31, 2016). "All-American swimmer found guilty of sexually assaulting unconscious woman on Stanford campus". Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Herhold, Scott (March 21, 2016). "Herhold: Thanking two Stanford students who subdued campus sex assault suspect". San José Mercury News. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  9. ^ Dremann, Sue (October 6, 2015). "Brock Turner to stand trial on sex-assault charges". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  10. ^ Rocha, Veronica; Winton, Richard (June 8, 2016). "Light sentence for Stanford swimmer in sexual assault 'extraordinary,' legal experts say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  11. ^ Aydin, Rebecca (October 6, 2015). "Brock Turner, accused of rape last winter, undergoes preliminary hearing". Stanford Daily. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Fimrite, Peter (June 3, 2016). "Ex-Stanford swimmer to serve 6 months in unconscious woman's rape". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c Xu, Victor. "Brock Turner sentenced to six months in county jail, three years probation". Stanford Daily. Retrieved June 4, 2016. Turner was arrested Jan. 18, 2015, after two graduate students found him on top of an unconscious woman outside Kappa Alpha fraternity at approximately 1 a.m.
  14. ^ Anderson, Nick (December 14, 2015). "In Stanford sexual assault case, probation officer recommended 'moderate' jail term". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
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