A bizarre Facebook support group has popped up purporting to be from the voice of convicted sexual assailant Brock Turner's family though it may have been created by a misogynistic troll simply looking to stir the pot on Turner's behalf. Making multiple references to Turner as "our son," the page has garnered over 6,000 Likes as of now, with posts referring to Turner as "the real victim," calling the Swedish students who initially detained him and called police "Euro trash thugs," and suggesting that the anonymous victim in the case should come forward publicly.
It would be notable if the incendiary posts on the page were coming from a member of the Turner family, though that seems unlikely. One post does detail various aspects of Turner's incarceration, trying to make the point that he is doing "hard time," and occasionally has to eat his meals cold and endure revolving cell mates.
The most trollish posts, however, blame the victim for blacking out on alcohol the night of the assault, with one posted photo showing a woman hoisting a vodka bottle to her lips with the caption, "If you aren't looking to swim, stay out of the pool."
Another post from the last 24 hours suggests that the victim could not have been scarred for life by the incident because she was unconscious, saying, "It is physically impossible to be scarred for life by events that transpired while you are blissfully unaware of the euphoric feelings of consensual petting."
And then there's this:
It has been months and the accuser has yet to publicly come forward to face our son. Instead she chose only to read a victim impact statement in the courtroom like a coward. Embarrassing our son before his friends and family. She refuses to put a name and a face to her story for the world to see. Why? She is terrified that the world will See her for who she truly is. A liar. She is terrified what may be unearthed if someone were to dig deep enough into her relationship history. She is terrified that the world will find out she is a co-conspirator in labeling our son a criminal. A co-conspirator in keeping him from achieving his dreams.
In other news from the opposing camp, women's organization UltraViolet is sponsoring a billboard campaign calling for the removal of Santa Clara Judge Aaron Persky, whom many have argued let Turner off with too light a sentence. The first billboard, going up by Highway 92, can be seen below.
