Brock Allen Turner’s Rape Survivor Publishes Letter, Gets 1.11 Million Views
Brock Allen Turner is the man, as reported by Newser, who is being criticized for his light six-month sentence after the now 20-year-old sexually assaulted a woman one evening on January 17, 2015. After Turner’s judge made the reverberating statement that too much jail time would have a “severe impact” upon Brock, Turner’s rape survivor wrote her own impact letter, letting the judge and everyone else know the severe impact that the sexual assault had upon her in the wake of Brock’s assault.
Turner, who once was a swimmer at Stanford, has a name that is making the rounds online because of what is being deemed a light sentence due to his pedigree. On Thursday, the day that Brock was sentenced, Turner’s victim read aloud her full impact letter, which was published by reporter Katie J.M. Baker and can be read in full on the BuzzFeed News website.
Published on Friday, June 3, at 4:17 p.m., the rape survivor’s letter quickly amassed more than 1,110,605 views by Saturday, June 4. After Turner only received six months in jail for three counts of sexual assault that could have landed Brock in jail for 14 years, his rape victim read a statement that let Brock know the impact of his actions upon her — giving her the chance to shed light on her future, instead of just Brock’s dashed Olympics aspirations.
Read this. and read it to your sons and daughters. And remember the rapist's name: Brock Allen Turner. https://t.co/7Wcstml7WU
— Liz Savery (@lizsavery) June 4, 2016
After two Stanford University graduate students happened upon Brock as he was raping his victim, Turner faced a trial that made plenty of mention of Brock as a champion swimmer. Despite Turner’s skills as an expert swimmer, the California jury still decided to find Brock guilty of the sexual assault charges. It was only Brock’s light sentence of six months in county jail and probation — along with the judge’s sympathetic statements towards Turner — that made the story go viral.
The 23-year-old rape survivor, as reported by BuzzFeed News, was dismayed at Brock’s “gentle” sentence — plus was angered by the fact that Turner did not admit to raping her while she was unconscious. In the opening of her statement, Brock’s rape survivor proclaimed that she would address Turner directly. She began her powerful statement by telling Brock that he did not know her, but that Turner had been inside of her all the same — the reason that they were in court that day.
WhereTF is hisMugshot?I dont want2see his yearbookPixHe is a felonThe justice system back at it again w/the failure https://t.co/cNmBvmIjkL
— Monet B (@monet_iam) June 4, 2016
The very top of the article shows the types of questions rape survivors are asked, before it continues on to describe Turner’s victim’s statement. She wrote about how her planned quiet evening turned tragic when she decided to go to a “dumb party” 10 minutes away with her younger sister. The beige cardigan she wore made Turner’s rape victim’s sister tease her for dressing like a librarian at a frat party. Admitting that she drank too much too quickly, Brock’s rape victim also described the horror she faced next.
“The next thing I remember I was in a gurney in a hallway. I had dried blood and bandages on the backs of my hands and elbow. I thought maybe I had fallen and was in an admin office on campus. I was very calm and wondering where my sister was. A deputy explained I had been assaulted. I still remained calm, assured he was speaking to the wrong person. I knew no one at this party. When I was finally allowed to use the restroom, I pulled down the hospital pants they had given me, went to pull down my underwear, and felt nothing. I still remember the feeling of my hands touching my skin and grabbing nothing. I looked down and there was nothing. The thin piece of fabric, the only thing between my vagina and anything else, was missing and everything inside me was silenced. I still don’t have words for that feeling. In order to keep breathing, I thought maybe the policemen used scissors to cut them off for evidence.”
There were pine needles that scratched the back of her head, and the “Rape Victim” papers she was asked to sign that made her realize the horrific attack that had occurred. Her clothes taken for evidence, she walked out of the hospital after getting huge hugs from the staff, and tried to resume a normal life.
[Image via Shutterstock]
