Brock Turner, a former swimmer at Stanford University, was convicted on Thursday, June 2, of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a dumpster. The 20-year-old from Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced to six months of jail and three years of probation because the judge believed a longer sentence would have “a severe impact” on him.
The lenient ruling sparked outrage on social media.
Now, it has come to light that the disgraced athlete’s father, Dan Turner, read a letter to judge Aaron Persky, in which he described the rape as “20 minutes of action.”
The letter was posted to Twitter by Michele Dauber, a Stanford University law professor.
#brockturner father: son not “violent” only got “20 mins of action” shouldn’t have to go to prison. @thehuntinground pic.twitter.com/IFECJs687b
— Michele Dauber (@mldauber) June 5, 2016
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,” Turner wrote. “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life.”
Mr. Turner — who lamented Brock being placed on a sex offender list — added that while his boy used to love a big ribeye steak, “now he barely consumes any food and and eats only to exist.” Read the full letter here.
On January 18, 2015, two male graduate students were passing by a fraternity party when they saw Brock on top of an unconscious woman. The students tackled Brock after he attempted to flee, and then called the police.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing and recovering, and more.