After a year-long battle in court, Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was found guilty of three felony sexual assault charges in March 2016. On Thursday, he was sentenced to just 6 months in county jail after assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster after they both had attended a fraternity party.
Although a six month jail sentence seems pretty slim with regards to the serious crime committed, Turner’s father, Dan A. Turner has written a letter requesting even MORE leniency. While requesting probation for his son, Dan wrote:
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.”
I doubt the victim saw the horrific incident as a mere “20 minutes of action”.
Prior to the sentencing, the victim read a 12-page impact statement to the court. In the statement, she describes how she felt preyed upon and violated to the point where she no longer wanted to remain in her own body. She also described the impact the assault has had on her life and admonished Turner for failing to take complete responsibility for his actions.
In addition to the jail sentence, Turner received 3 years of probation and has been ordered to register as a sex offender and complete a sex-offender-management program. Turner’s father sought sympathy by addressing the fact that the sex offender registration would alter “where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations.”
The fact that Turner’s father is whining about what really amounts to a mere slap on the wrist for a serious crime is absurd. The life of the victim and those closest to her will never be the same.