Having been found guilty of three felony sexual assault charges stemming from an on-campus incident taking place in January 2015, former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was handed his sentence today in California.
Turner, who was a freshman on the Stanford swimming roster during the 2014-2015 season, was arrested in January of 2015 after being found on top of an unconscious woman near a fraternity house on the Stanford campus.
The victim was a 23-year-old woman who had graduated from a different school, but visited a fraternity party at Stanford with her sister and some friends. She testified that she had no memory of the events of the night after drinking at the party. Two bikers, who found Turner on top of her and confronted him, testified that Turner tried to run, and that the woman was unconscious.
After deliberating for two days, the jury found Turner guilty of all three charges: assault with the intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration of an unconscious person.
A punishment of up to 10 years in prison could have been sought by the prosecution for the guilty verdicts, however, the prosecution reportedly asked the judge to sentence Turner to six years in a California prison.
Reportedly leaning toward the probation officials’ recommendation of a lesser penalty, Turner was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation, per The Guardian.
The judge presiding over the case, Aaron Persky, pointed to Turner’s age and lack of criminal history in the decision to issue a 6 month county jail sentence. “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him … I think he will not be a danger to others.”
After the sentencing was announced, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen stated that “the punishment does not fit the crime.”
At the hearing, the 23-year-old victim stated to the court, “We cannot forgive everyone’s first sexual assault … The seriousness of rape has to be communicated clearly. We should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error.”
Addressing Turner directly, the victim stated, “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt.”
For his part, Turner vocalized a short statement, “Nobody deserves a single second of what I have caused them to go through … I want to express that I’m sorry for everything.” (The Guardian)
A few honest questions about consent… a few things seem a bit grey to me… if both Brock and the young lady were drunk, both over .2 BAC, why is the “you can’t consent to sex when you’re drunk” drum constantly being beaten? Couldn’t a reasonable person conclude they both had a history of binge drinking, both were in the phase of their young lives which included casual “hook-ups”, both met at the party, both decided to leave the party to go somewhere more private, both went to the location behind the dumpster which was widely known on the Stanford campus as a “lovers lane” for casual hookups, both engaged in kissing/petting/rubbing/etc. over the clothes and under the clothes. Both… Read more »
Lets hope that FINA, USA Swimming, and USMS will ban him for life! Or at least 50 years. And toss his father in jail while you’re at it!!
I wish the source was a tad more reputable, but as the article says “This is America.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-brock-turner-cory-batey-show-race-affects-sentencing-article-1.2664945
He was a straight A student, he was a great swimmer, he is a polite boy, he was a star in the town.
…and he committed and was convicted of rape.
Brock was charged with
1. Assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person
2. Sexual penetration of an intoxicated person. (He fingered her) The woman can touch Brock’s genitals but he cannot touch hers?
3. Sexual penetration of an unconscious person. (He fingered her)
He fingered her and she touched him, but there was not sexual intercourse hence no rape. The media has really misinformed the public.
I applaud the judge, but I think the punishment is too harsh. In my opinion the case never should have been tried and should have been thrown out.
This matter should have been handled privately and the police/courts should not be involved. It is very sad that two kids had a drunken encounter that they both regret and the male is in jail because the female passed out first. According to the news, both of their alcohol levels indicate that Brock and the woman were extremely drunk. I feel sorry for everyone involved in this case and that two young people had their lives dragged through the mud.
Currently it is unfair how we are applying California law… Read more »
Hi sweetie,
Sorry your swim pal is going to jail…. But maybe….
Watch this video – particularly the unconscious bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp6alIALDHA
Then read her statement. Touching a penis is assault, but she COULDN’T ASSAULT HIM BECAUSE SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS. likewise “Brock was charged with sexual assault and sexual penetration because Brock fingered the woman. His penis was in his pants and never touched her vagina.” – he assaulted her with fingers and foreign object, its still assault, if you were unconscious and someone shoved your dick in a bottle, i think you’d still be pretty pissed off even if it wasn’t a vagina…….. Two witnesses and he RAN AWAY – how much evidence do… Read more »
His finger was/is considered the foreign object. His fingers touched her vagina not his penis. He was found guilty of fingering.
Brock was charged with
1. Assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person
2. Sexual penetration of an intoxicated person. (He fingered her) The woman can touch Brock’s genitals but he cannot touch hers?
3. Sexual penetration of an unconscious person. (He fingered her)
She was not unconscious the whole night and she walked away from the frat party kissing, touching, Brock, which violates California law (that says you cannot even get to first base with a drunk person because he/she cannot consent to anything because he/she is drunk.)
Would passing out… Read more »
Our society is desensitized to sex crimes against women, just like in the middle east and other third world nations. I refer to it as “gender privilege.”
The Stanford woman’s vagina was penetrated. Period!
Had a body cavity belonging to #BrockTurner, #JudgeAaronPersky or any male been penetrated behind a dumpster and subsequently left partially naked face up with their legs open or even face down with their butt sticking up, the responsible party would not receive leniency.
As for first time offenders, our jails and prisons are filled with first time offenders. For many have lived decades contributing to society and have no overt or covert criminal behavior, but for many it’s the first time their caught!… Read more »
Brock’s statement in the beginning varied greatly from his final statement once he realized that She did not remember enough to to catch him in any lies. It was only in his final statement did he mention that they left “hugging and kissing”. She is in a relationship and went out only to spend time with her sister. She had no intention on sleeping with anyone and still, even drunk, did not have an intention of raping Brock. She did not touch his penis. Therefore there is no reason for her to be charged with a blasted thing. If she had done the things that you are saying she should be charged with, fine. BUT SHE DID NOT.
Even… Read more »
His finger was/is considered the foreign object. His fingers touched her vagina not his penis. He was found guilty of fingering her.
If she wanted to spend time with her sister then why did she drink four shots of alcohol and then have her mom drop her off at a frat party and drink even more?
She was not unconscious the whole night and she walked away from the frat party kissing, touching, Brock, which violates California law (that says you cannot even get to first base with a drunk person because he/she cannot consent to anything because he/she is drunk.) The woman does not remember what she did so how do you know she did not touch… Read more »
So they’re both guilty of drunk in public and perhaps “going to first base with a drunk person,” as you so maturely point out. Then she passed out and he raped her. So what are we debating again?
How is it rape? His finger touched her vagina not his penis. There is no evidence that his finger touched her vagina when she was unconscious. The mutual touching most likely happened while they were both conscious. If she became unconscious just as the bikers arrived and Brock did not realize it, then why is he being punished? They both should have been given tickets for being drunk in public and leave it at that.
The response to this incident is so out of proportion and destructive. I would rather help young people get back on the right track rather then destroy their lives.
We (society) should be spending our energy on finding cures for diseases, ending hunger… Read more »
Turners fans, including Judge Persky, need a dose of reality.
Had Turner, his father or the judge been naked behind a dumpster, penetrated by a foreign object and dry humped by the victim or by another “Stanford boy” perhaps they would be empathetic to the victims life sentence and therefore find Turners six month sentence as egregious!
Persky should be barred from the bench and law.
Turners sentencing should be overturned and he should barred from the sport of swimming for life.
Some are concerned about the effect that a just sentence would have on the rapist. This is because they are really too ashamed to express the truth in crude terms. In our society -Rape against a woman is accepted by both men an women- This has everything to do with gender, and nothing to do with her age, lifestyle choices, etc.
Do not lie to yourself. This is happening in plenty of learning communities, it’s sex offender wonderland at colleges because of YOUR thinking.
You are the REAL JURY, you let the attacker know that you will be silent, that you will defend his actions, that you will shield him from consequences. The attacker involves you in jokes… Read more »
To “A COLEGE GRADUATE THAT WANTS JUSTICE”: COLEGE is spelled COLLEGE. It also should be written as: A COLLEGE GRADUATE WHO (not that) WANTS JUSTICE.
What exactly is your point?
My point is that this monster, and your way of thinking in this community is the reason for rape culture.
I speak to you from a place of agony, and all you can hear is my spelling!
What is wrong with You?
My other point is people have the power to destroy rape culture. But with comments like yours they keep it alive and feel great about their position at the same time.
Is rape something that you as a community member endorse?
If so, admit it openly. If not state it clearly as your primary objective.
If You can find fault elsewhere, if you advocate anything but the maximum penalty for this rapist,
Your answer is clear to all!
Hey, this is very upsetting for Brock. He can’t eat steak any longer.
Watch the video. It appears he’s chewing bubble gum in court. Seriously! He is hiding behind the excuse of alcohol. A moral, decent person would not do that to another human being. He’s a complete and total disgrace. There are too many inequities in the system. So, now you’ve got Brock Turner, Cal Harris and Ethan Couch (Affluenza teen) trying to buy their way out of the justice system. It’s not fair. It really is not.