My heart breaks for the woman who was raped by the boy from Stanford. I say 'boy' because Brock Allen Turner is nowhere near deserving of having the title of a man. A man takes responsibility for his actions, sober or not. A man is held accountable, if only to himself, for the actions and choices he makes. My heart smiles because his victim was brave enough to speak out and address him directly in court through a letter that detailed the actions that Turner made and the severity of the impact that his actions had on her.
The night took place in January of 2015 when two of Stanford University grad students found a freshman (Turner) thrusting his body on top of an unconscious, partially dressed female. This has been over a year that this woman has had to deal with the sorrow and troubles and the malicious thoughts bounding about in her head, unable to find peace because of the ongoing court case.
In March of 2016, a California jury found the 20-year-old Turner guilty on three counts of sexual accounts. Turner was to face a maximum of 14 years in a state prison. However, this past Thursday, the judge sentenced Turner to a scanty six month sentence in a county jail and probation. Then the judge had the audacity to say that he feared a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner.
You’re kidding me, right? This woman was drug unconscious behind a dumpster and raped. The boy wasn’t walking her to her car, or helping her with her jacket because it was chilly. No, Turner violated this woman and took away the very essence of who she was.
What makes this even better is that Turner’s own father came to his aid by writing a letter to the judge! In the letter, the father loaded down the many accomplishments that Brock had encountered over his lifetime, such as how he was a hard worker, easy to be around, not one to prejudge people and how “he (Turner) has a very gentle and quiet nature and a smile that is truly welcoming to those around him.” Notice how loaded these choice words are. He even speaks about how wonderful of a swimmer Brock was. For example, Turner received an academic scholarship that covered 60 percent of tuition before he was even accepted To Stanford.
In the last paragraph, the father speaks how, “Brock’s life has been deeply altered forever…” and how “He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile.”
Please cry me a river. Nowhere in the letter was there an actual apology for the actions that his son committed. Nowhere was there an apology to Turner’s victim. Six months in a county jail is a slap on the wrist for his actions. It’s likely that Turner will not even have to serve the full six months anyways.
The most sickening statement in this comical letter is as follows, “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of the 20 plus years of life. The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations.”
20 minutes of action. Action, meaning the act of defiling an unconscious female by the act of raping her. People wonder why women are afraid of speaking out about their rapists because the very system that is set in place to protect them laughs in their faces. Put yourself in this woman’s shoes, her father’s shoes or her mother’s shoes. Now tell me if you still feel like six months in a county jail is a “steep price to pay.”
Parents, do us all a favor and teach your kids that other peoples' bodies are NOT theirs to play and mess with, regardless of age. Even when one becomes married, if the wife or the husband says no, that means no. Consent is everything and has to be renewed in every situation.
