Stanford University defends its handling of sex assault case
Brock Turner in a January 2015 booking photo. The former Stanford University swimmer was sentenced last week to six months in jail and three years’ probation for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, sparking outrage from critics who say Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky was too lenient on a privileged athlete from a top-tier swimming program. (Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO » Stanford University “did everything within its power” to ensure justice in the case of a former swimmer sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, saying it moved swiftly to investigate and punish the student but that more needs to be done at the school and elsewhere to end sexual violence.
The university banned Brock Turner from campus after wrapping up its investigation less than two weeks after the attack, calling it “the harshest sanction that a university can impose on a student,” according to a statement released Monday. The school says it reached out to the victim to offer support and inform her of the steps it was taking.
“In this case, Stanford University, its students, its police and its staff members did everything they could,” the statement said, adding that it was proud of two students who stopped the January 2015 assault.
Carl-Fredrik Arndt tells CBS News (http://cbsn.ws/25K6Ca9 ) that he and his friend happened to ride by on bicycles and saw Turner “aggressively thrusting his hips into her.” He said the woman was unconscious the entire time because he checked her and she “didn’t move at all.”
“The guy stood up then we saw she wasn’t moving still. So we called him out on it. And the guy ran away, my friend Peter chased after him,” Arndt said.
The 20-year-old Turner was sentenced last week to six months in jail and three years’ probation, sparking outrage from critics who say Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky was too lenient on a privileged athlete from a top-tier swimming program. Some are urging he be removed from the bench.
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The case gained national attention after prosecutors released a poignant statement from the 23-year-old victim that she read in court. Criticism intensified when a letter from Turner’s father to the judge was released, in which he pleaded for leniency and said his son had already paid a steep price for “20 minutes of action.”
Stanford acknowledged that more needs to be done but said it is a national leader in implementing prevention programs, student training on intervention and support for victims.
“There is still much work to be done, not just here, but everywhere, to create a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form and a judicial system that deals appropriately with sexual assault cases,” its statement said.
The judge said in court Thursday that he followed the recommendation of the county’s probation department in sentencing Turner. Persky cited Turner’s clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life. The Dayton, Ohio, man also must register for life as a sex offender after a jury convicted him of three felony counts of assault and attempted rape.
The prosecutor disagreed with the sentence, arguing for a six-year term for crimes that could have sent Turner to prison for 10 years. But lawyers who have appeared in Persky’s court call him a fair and conservative judge.
“He is an absolutely solid and respected judge,” said Santa Clara County deputy public defender Gary Goodman. “Persky made the right decision.”
He is barred from commenting on the case because Turner is appealing his conviction, court spokesman Joe Macaluso said.
Some are urging for Persky’s recall in Change.org petitions, and Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber, a friend of the victim, launched a campaign to remove Persky from the bench. Dauber didn’t return phone calls and email inquiries from The Associated Press seeking comment Monday.
But Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, whose office argued for a prison sentence for Turner, said Persky should not lose his job because of the ruling.
The backlash over the case flared when Dauber released the letter that Turner’s father wrote to the judge before sentencing, saying his son had lost his appetite and will never be his happy-go-lucky self again.
Turner left Stanford, whose men’s swim team is one of the top 10 teams in the country this season, and his once-promising Olympic-hopeful swimming career ended abruptly.
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,” the father wrote. “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.”
The emotional statement that the victim read in court described how the attack left her emotionally scarred. She was so intoxicated that she did not wake up until hours after the attack. Turner also was intoxicated.
“My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition. I became closed off, angry, self-deprecating, tired, irritable, empty,” she said.
The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual abuse or assault.
27 responses to “Stanford University defends its handling of sex assault case”
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He escaped justice with his Dad’s $$$$$ Sad but it is a reality: justice is different for the rich than the poor. Always has been. Look at OJ in the 1990’s. The injustice is as much economic as it is racial.
How do you know he was rich? He was there because of his swimming talent. H
ow come drunken women aren’t held responsible for their actions but drunken men are? What he did was wrong but she should not have let herself get so drunk that she passed out.
You are a d*ck.
duck?
is that supposed to be some kind of rebuttal?
you must be related to the pr!ck or the judge.
I have wondered this too. It seems that if two people drink too much, the burden of restraint falls on the male. Yes, the female is unable to give consent, and in this case chose to drink and then could not even remember anything that happened. Yet the male, who is also intoxicated, has the burden to know that she is unable to give consent? He may not have been in any condition to know. Again, his choice to drink too much. So who is more wrong for having consumed so much to drink that neither was able to make good choice? Tragic for both parties. My heart goes out to these young people.
quit giving excuses, rape is rape and nonconsensual sex means that the other person didn’t give her consent. Do you know what is right from wrong? It isn’t about burden it is about what is right and what is wrong.
You and Paki have a really distorted sense of right and wrong if you want to lay blame for this on the girl.
You should’ve stopped while you were ahead. Your comment was somewhat lucid until the third sentence. Then you just went off the tracks.
If you leave your front door unlocked and are burglarized, YOU are partially at fault. Leaving your front door open doesn’t mean it’s okay to come in and steal, but you ARE partially at fault. Consuming so much alcohol and leaving herself defenseless was caused by only one person – herself !!
But, 1st and foremost, rape is a heinous crime, most of the time a violent crime !! This IS a crime of stupidity, caused by alcohol, and has ruined 2 lives !!
I hope people like you, Paki and hunakai don’t have daughters. I would weep for them.
Well, okay. so the young woman isn’t really a victim at all. In fact, she’s the perpetrator. Yes, that’s the ticket. She drank alcohol and because of that this nice young man’s life is ruined.
He should sue.
You win the award today for the worst comment from a loathsome imbecile.
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,” the father wrote. “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” Father’s judgement is whacked. Was he deliberately being obtuse by using the word “action”, or is he just plain stupid?
I too thought what I stupid thing to say. Action? Good grief!
This turd will someday feel how it is to be raped. Only thing, he’ll be wide awake and his daddy will not be around to do anything.
Yes, he is a turd, but from where did you get the info that the woman was raped? When she woke up from her drunken stupor in a hospital, a doctor told her she might have been sexually assaulted, but there was evidence that a rape had occurred. Keep in mind that the guys blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit for California. With an alcohol level that high, his penis was most likely like a wet noodle which made him incapable of rape. He might have grouped her or touched her sexually which constitutes sexual assault in most jurisdictions, but rape is highly questionable. I believe the judge made the right decision.
The Real justice will be served when Bubba gets ahold of him in jail.
yikes!
You mean the other Bubba… I’m not in jail!
To the perp’s father I would ask: “It takes just a second to shoot someone dead. For that one second of ‘action’, we should therefore just impose a small fine?”
You can tell by the dad’s response that he didn’t think his kid did anything wrong. The kid learned everything from his dad. I just hope that karma intervenes and the kid gets to understand what rape is when the other inmates have their fun with him. I hope that the other inmates have a great 6 months with him to show him what nonconsensual sex is.
If you don’t teach your kid to respect and have empathy for other human beings, make them think they are entitled because of any talents they may or may not have, that the world should revolve around them and no one else matters – then you’ll be a proud parent of a child like Brock Turner. Judge Persky must have one at home, too.
Fortunately, it doesn’t matter how much money one has. Karma will always make sure you get what you deserve. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but sooner or later…
If ANYONE is at fault here, it’s alcohol !!! There is NO excuse for any kind of rape !! But, does anyone honestly believe this would have happened if no alcohol was consumed ??? If they were both stoned on marijuana, this NEVER would have happened. Alcohol makes people STUPID, it impairs judgment, decreases inhibition, and leads to BAD judgments !!!! When will our “lawmakers” become educated enough to realize alcohol is the worst drug known to mankind. Marijuana is much more benign and does NOT cause as many bad decisions as alcohol.
Two talented people have had their lives negatively changed forever. As usual, our legal system is not the perfect environment to solve the situation, but to extract revenge. If she were my daughter, I would be suing the alcohol industry for every penny I could get !!! Alcohol has ruined 2 young people’s lives and goes scott free AGAIN – AS USUAL !!!
You should lay off the weed before commenting.
Nah, stick with weed and lay off commenting works better.