Stanford rapist Brock Turner blames alcohol and 'sexual promiscuity' for his actions

Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on the Stanford University campus, has blamed his actions on the university's culture.

This January 2015 booking photo released by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office shows Brock Turner.

Sexual assault victim speaks out Source: AAP

Stanford rapist Brock Turner used a statement to court to blame alcohol and sexual promiscuity for his sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman last year.

Turner was convicted of three felony charges in relation to the sexual assault of the woman behind a dumpster on the university campus.

In a letter he read to the court before he was sentenced to six months in jail, the 20-year-old swimmer blamed the university's party culture for leading him towards "risk-taking behaviour".
The has published an excerpt of Turner's letter on their website.

"I want to demolish the assumption that drinking and partying are what make up a college lifestyle," he said.

"I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decisions hurt someone.

"I’ve been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behaviour that I briefly experienced in my four months at school.

"I’ve lost my chance to swim in the Olympics. I’ve lost my ability to obtain a Stanford degree. I’ve lost employment opportunity, my reputation and most of all, my life."

Turner, who had a swimming scholarship to the university, also used the letter to ask to be placed on probation so he could warn others about the how "things can go from fun to ruined in just one night".

"I would make it my life’s mission to show everyone that I can contribute and be a positive influence on society from these events that have transpired," he said.

"I know I can impact and change people’s attitudes towards the culture surrounded by binge drinking and sexual promiscuity that protrudes through what people think is at the core of being a college student.
However his victim, who remains anonymous, told the  his statement, and the sentiments he expressed, were "dangerous".

"People need to know that this way of thinking is dangerous," she said.

"It’s threatening. More than my emotions, it’s my safety, everyone else’s safety. It’s not just me feeling sad and defeated. It’s honest fear."

She said Turner, who said repeatedly the encounter was consensual, had failed to show any sincere remorse or responsibility for his actions.

In sentencing Turner, judge Aaron Persky said he did not think Turner's failure to acknowledge he had committed an assault should count against him.

"I take him at his word that subjectively that’s his version of his events," he said.

"I’m not convinced that his lack of complete acquiescence to the verdict should count against him."
More than 700,000 people have signed a petition calling for the judge to be recalled due to the leniency of Turner's sentence, which could have been up to 14 years in prison.

The two Swedish PhD students who came to the woman's aid a captured Turner, Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, gave evidence against Turner.

Mr Arndt has since spoken about how Mr Jonsson chased Turner when he ran away, tackling him and holding him until the police arrived.

"We saw that she wasn't moving, but he was moving a lot," Mr Arndt told Swedish news outlet Expressen.

"We stopped and thought, 'this seems very strange.'

"Peter asked him what he was doing, and I followed him. When he got up we saw that she was still not moving at all, so we asked something along the lines of: 'What the hell are you doing?'"

Turner reportedly intends to appeal his sentence.

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Published 9 June 2016 10:56am
Updated 9 June 2016 11:04am
Source: SBS News


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