Turner, an ex-Stanford University swimmer, was convicted on three felony charges related to the sexual assault of an unconscious women behind a dumpster on campus. Both were said to have been intoxicated. Two passersby intervened upon seeing the incident, according to reports.
After his sentence was handed down, his victim read a statement admonishing the sentence and it was subsequently shared widely on social media. The letter, along with controversial statements from Turner’s father, set off a national firestorm.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hosted a reading of the victim’s nearly 7,000 word statement and CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield took a portion of her show to read the letter in its entirety.
Turner was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape, sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an intoxicated woman with a foreign object, according to information from California Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman. Eggman has called for the resignation of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced Turner. A petition calling for Persky’s recall has pulled in more than a million signatures.
“Judge Persky’s decision is baffling and repugnant, especially given the rapist’s refusal to accept his guilt, and to instead blame ‘drinking culture,’ which is an obvious attempt at blaming the victim,” Eggman said in a statement. “Six months in the county lockup is a sentence so lenient it sends a clear message that rape will not be treated seriously.”
Vice President Joe Biden wrote a letter to the victim expressing his support that was posted to Buzzfeed. He applauded her bravery.
“I am in awe of your courage for speaking out — for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity,” Biden said, adding “ … If everyone who shared your letter on social media, or who had a private conversation in their own homes with their daughters and sons, draws upon the passion, the outrage, and the commitment they feel right now the next time there is a choice between intervening and walking away — then I believe you will have helped to change the world for the better.”
The National Organization for Women wrote directly to Persky to express “outrage” at the sentence. NOW, which boasts it is the biggest grassroots woman’s advocacy group in the nation, called for his removal from office. Considering the maximum 14 year sentence Persky could have handed down, the group accused the judge of “clear bias against sexual assault victims” and favoring a “young, white, star athlete.”
“As a Judge who is entrusted to administer justice and uphold the rule of law, you have irrevocably violated the public trust by handing down a sentence that is not commensurate with the seriousness of the violent, life-altering, and heinous crimes committed in this case,” the letter signed by NOW leadership reads. “You are quoted as justifying the leniency of this sentence by saying that ‘Obviously, the prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.’ Here, you demonstrate far more concern with the outcome for the convicted perpetrator than that of the young woman who was brutally assaulted while unconscious.”
The letter also takes issue with Persky’s lenience due to Turner’s intoxicated state, claiming drunk drivers and those who commit assault while drinking are held fully responsible. Further, statistics show those who commit sexual assault frequently are repeat offenders, according to information from the group, noting that repeat offenders have an average of six victims.
“By giving a sentence that does not fit the crime, you have ignored the science of studies that show that a person like Turner is actually extremely likely to be a future danger to others,” it reads.
Persky does have at least one supporter, though. Patrick Hoopes, an attorney with the Alternate Defender's Office, wrote to the Mercury News that he has found Persky to be a fair and thoughtful jurist who acted within the bounds of the law when sentencing Turner.