Brock Turner: Stanford Rapist To Be Released Early, As California Closes Rape Loophole

While it may seem unbelievable to many, Brock Turner, aka “the Stanford rapist,” is slated to be released from custody soon, roughly three months ahead of schedule. Brock Turner, a former star on the Stanford swim team, rose to notoriety after he was arrested for attempted rape on January 17, 2015. The then-20-year-old Turner was literally caught with his pants down as he attempted to sexually assault an unconscious 22-year-old female behind a dumpster. Both had attended a Stanford University frat party. The victim had blacked out after drinking too much. She was rescued by two bystanders, who not only caught Turner in the act, but stopped him and held him until police arrived to take him into custody.

The heroes in the case of Stanford Rapist Brock Turner were Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson. They told police that they had found Brock Turner on top of his unconscious victim. According to a responding officer, Brock Turner didn’t have much to say when he was busted and taken into custody. Ultimately, the Stanford Rapist was indicted on January 28, 2015, on five charges: two for rape, two for felony sexual assault, and one for attempted rape.

Brock Turner’s arraignment took place on February 2, 2015, and there he pleaded not guilty to all charges. Months later, after the rape kit and DNA results came back, prosecutors dropped the two rape charges against Turner after it was determined that he “only” penetrated his unconscious victim with his fingers.

The trial of Stanford rapist Brock Turner ran from March 14 to March 30, 2016. Over the course of those two weeks, both sides had the opportunity to plead their case, and ultimately Brock Turner was convicted of three charges of felony sexual assault. Specifically, intent to commit rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person, and sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person.

Disgusting, I'm speechless.. This is a complete joke.. #brockturner pic.twitter.com/Pk72NjVhQe

— ? (@GrierBeast) August 30, 2016

Following Brock Turner’s conviction, prosecutors in the case wanted him sentenced to six years in a California prison, reports People.

“This sentence is more reflective of the seriousness of the case…and it is more uniform with similar sexual assault cases in our County that result in convictions after trial. By sentencing the Defendant to a substantial prison term, this Court will send a message to him, Jane Doe [the victim], and the greater community that sexually violating a woman is never acceptable, especially when she is intoxicated.”

American lad called Brock Turner raped a drunk girl in January, he gets released from prison on Friday #sound

— online content creation expert (@Jabloney69) August 30, 2016

Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s attorney had a different idea of a fair sentence. He wanted his client out of county jail in four months and felt as though supervised probation of only up to five years was appropriate. In the end, the judge largely agreed with Turner’s defense attorney, much to the collective disgust and outrage of the majority of the people following the case.

Judge Aaron Persky has himself risen to notoriety following the incredibly lenient sentence he meted out to Turner. Persky, a Stanford alum and former lacrosse coach at the university, felt it was appropriate to sentence the convicted Stanford rapist to nothing more than six months in jail and five years probation. Out of concern for the impact that a lengthier, more severe sentence might have on the vulnerable young man, who had just been convicted of sexually assaulting and forever traumatizing a young woman. And who had never accepted responsibility for his actions.

“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.”

In a nutshell, Judge Persky sentenced Brock Turner to six months in county lockup for charges that carried a 14-year maximum prison sentence and to which prosecutors wanted to see him sentenced to at least six of those years.

Brock Turner’s victim wrote a moving letter to the court in which she addressed Brock Turner directly and implored the judge for proper justice. Her pleas went unheeded by Judge Persky.

“You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today. The damage is done; no one can undo it.”

Brock Turner’s friends and loved ones wrote letters to the court as well. In one infamous letter, his father trivialized his son’s actions and the impact Brock Turner’s crimes had on his victim, much to the chagrin of the general public.

“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.”

For whatever reason, be it their shared ties to sports or to Stanford, Judge Persky sided with the Stanford rapist and gave him a slap on the wrist sentence. Since then, over 2 million people have signed a recall petition and Persky will no longer be hearing criminal cases, reports Rolling Stone. He has also reportedly faced death threats for his lenient treatment of a sexual assault convict, while ignoring the victim of the crime.

Now, three short months into his six month sentence, Stanford rapist Brock Turner is getting ready to be released early for “good behavior.” According to multiple reports, Turner will be released from jail on Friday, September 2, after completing only half of his already laughable and insulting sentence for sexual assault. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

While the fact that Brock Turner’s incredibly light sentence has effectively been cut in half, surely a slap in the face to his victim and sexual assault victims the world over, there is some good news coming out of California. First and foremost, Stanford rapist Brock Turner will have to register as a sex offender and follow through with three years of supervised probation.

In addition, the public outrage and backlash over the insultingly short jail sentence that Brock Turner received has sparked some real change in California law. Change that could mean that no other woman in the state has to live with the knowledge that the person convicted of sexually assaulting her escapes being held accountable.

As BBC reports, the Brock Turner fiasco prompted California state legislators to vote to close a loophole that allowed judges to impose more lenient sentences in cases where the victim didn’t (or was incapable) of resisting. Currently, California has mandatory minimum prison sentences in cases of rape convictions involving violence, but those mandatory sentences don’t extend to rapes and sexual assaults where the victim is incapable of fighting back.

Such as when they are unconscious.

The California legislator, in direct response to the Brock Turner case, has unanimously voted to amend the law to prohibit judges from opting for probation rather than prison in such cases. The bill inspired by Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s laughable sentence has been handed over to Governor Brown, who is expected to sign it soon.

[Photo by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office via AP Photo]