Brock Turner was a Stanford first year student when he was arrested and charged with sexual assault in early 2015. He was found guilty this past March of multiple felonies: Assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person, and penetration of an unconscious person. Turner has now been sentenced to six months in county jail, a lenient sentence considering, according to KRON4, he faced up to 10 years.
The Guardian describes the disturbing scene of the crime last year, which occurred not far from a campus frat house party, they say behind a dumpster (though the Chronicle has the rape as occurring in a field). Both accounts detail Turner on top of a partially clothed and unconscious woman. When he was discovered by older students on bicycles, Turner fled on foot. The students tackled Turner and contacted the police, who made the arrest. Turner withdrew from school under two weeks later.
The Mercury News had the victim's testimony: She, a now-23-year-old woman visiting campus while living with her parents in Palo Alto and working at a technology company after graduating from UC Santa Barbara. After drinking and blacking out, she regained consciousness and learned of the attack on her. At first incredulous, she couldn't find her underwear: "That's when it hit me that what the deputy talked about was real and I was scared," she testified to the courtroom, sobbing and unable to speak further, prompting a recess.
Prosecutors sought a six-year sentence for Turner, with District Attorney Jeff Rosen responding to the sentence of six months that “The punishment does not fit the crime... The predatory offender has failed to take responsibility, failed to show remorse and failed to tell the truth. The sentence does not factor in the true seriousness of this sexual assault, or the victim’s ongoing trauma.”
"You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice," the victim addressed Turner at sentencing. “The damage is done. No one can undo it.”
According to a study covered by the Guardian, 10 percent of female college students in America were sexually assaulted in 2015. That study, from the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, found that four percent of woman had been raped during the academic year.
Pertinent to Turner's case, the Guardian quotes Sofie Karasek, director of education at End Rape on Campus, referring to fraternities and athletics. “Unfortunately there’s a culture of sexual assault that exists in both of these spheres... There’s often a level of impunity given to both of these organizations."
Previously: Stanford Freshman Arrested For Raping Woman In Public