A statement Brock Turner submitted in court last week has been made public.
Turner is the 20-year old former Stanford University student who was convicted on three felony counts of sexual assault and whose case has gone viral over the past several days.
The case has been making news because Judge Aaron Persky only sentenced Turner to six months in county jail, a punishment deemed far too lenient by endless critics on the Internet.
Following the surprising sentencing, Turner’s unnamed victim stood in court and read a moving statement, detailing how profoundly Turner’s actions have affected her life.
The ex-swimmer was convicted of digitally raping his unconscious victim near a dumpster outside a party early last year.
Watch the following video in order to hear the victim’s full statement:
Turner’s father also released a controversial statement of his own after the verdict was reached, explaining why his son should not spend a single day behind bars.
Now, The Guardian has published Turner’s own official statement.
This is part of what he wrote to the judge last week:
The night of January 17th changed my life and the lives of everyone involved forever.
I can never go back to being the person I was before that day. I am no longer a swimmer, a student, a resident of California, or the product of the work that I put in to accomplish the goals that I set out in the first 19 years of my life.
I’ve lost two jobs solely based on the reporting of my case. I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so maybe the newspapers wouldn’t want to write stories about me.
Wow.
Turner doesn’t seem to understand that newspapers have written stories about him BECAUSE HE RAPED SOMEONE and got off with scarcely any punishment at all.
Not because he was very good at swimming.
In the lengthy letter, Turner mentioned the victim’s suffering. He continued:
I can never forgive myself for imposing trauma and pain on [redacted]. It debilitates me to think that my actions have caused her emotional and physical stress that is completely unwarranted and unfair.
During the day, I shake uncontrollably from the amount I torment myself by thinking about what has happened.
Turner went on to say that he should not spend time in jail because he can make a positive impact as a free man instead.
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.
I want to demolish the assumption that drinking and partying are what make up a college lifestyle. I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decisions hurt someone.
There are times here when Turner seems contrite. Because he probably is in many ways.
But there are also far too many times when he blames his actions on drinking and still fails to grasp the concept that he sexually violated an unconscious woman.
This is not our opinion. This is a verdict handed down by a court.
The idea that he thinks he has something to teach others about “binge drinking and promiscuity” and nothing more is appalling.
