Brock Turner,
the Dumpster Rapist
Image via grunge.com
Brock Turner’s name is a vomit sandwich, the kind of thing you want to spit out as soon as it touches your mouth. I presume most everyone has heard of the Stanford rapist by now, but just in case, I’d like to recapitulate the criminal activity which has made him one of the most loathsome people in the country. On January 17th, 2015 Brock attended a frat party in California where he met a young woman and proceeded to sexually assault her behind a dumpster. As said woman, known only as Emily Doe, has since written a very meticulous letter detailing the resulting trauma and grief of being victimized, I will refer to her only by this pseudonym, to offer her what humanity I may.
Emily’s situation is a textbook “horror story” scenario. The night was off to an innocent start: plans to stay home, a little sister, a change of heart, a frat party. But things soon escalated in a way that those paying attention to America’s rape culture will not soon forget. Emily admittedly drank too much that evening; she concedes that she did not have the tolerance for alcohol she previously had in college. On the night of her attack, she was 22 and no longer attending school. Intoxication, however, was not Emily’s worst enemy that night. At 1 a.m. on January 18th when Emily blacked out, a then nineteen year old predator – Brock Turner – made a series of incriminating decisions which cost Emily her sense of security, her comfort in her own skin, and her dignity.
The two separate individuals (I refuse to call them a pair or a couple because these words imply some sort of mutual partnership) inexplicably ended up outside the frat house behind a tri-wall garbage enclosure. Turner removed Emily’s dress from her torso, peeled the sleeves off her arms, and left her breasts exposed. He hiked her dress up to her hips and fingered her, getting pine needles and dirt inside her vagina in the process. She was unable to give consent. I repeat. SHE WAS PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO GIVE CONSENT.
Meanwhile, two passersby (students presumably heading home on their bikes) came upon what they rightfully perceived as an awfully sketchy situation: a drunk male gyrating and thrusting against an unmoving female. Behind a dumpster. In the dark. At 1 a.m. In complete and utter seclusion. Like good citizens, they stopped and approached Brock from behind, reportedly questioning and reproaching him. Brock panicked and attempted to flee the scene, but was chased, tripped, and restrained by both Swedish men until police arrived on scene. Wikipedia’s incident details of the event also include an interesting tid bit about Brock smiling while being held down.
Emily Doe was initially unresponsive to yelling and shoulder jerks distributed by medical staff, but eventually woke up to vomit, and was subsequently taken to the hospital. Upon regaining consciousness, she was made to undergo intrusive physical exams and sign “rape victim” paperwork. Ms. Doe discovered the details of what happened to her only by watching the local news days later. Appalled that Brock would not admit his wrongdoing despite her testimony and two witnesses, she prepared for a year to go up against her assailant and read him a heart wrenching 7,000 word letter in court.
Long story short, Brock Turner was sentenced to only six months in a local, county prison. Although he would also be required to register as a sex offender in his home state of Ohio and undergo three years probation, Judge Aaron Persky’s sentence was considered extremely lenient in comparison to the 14 year maximum sentence Brock faced with multiple allegations.
In my humble opinion, six months is like taking a semester off of college. Worse, Brock only ended up serving three. I do not think Mr. Turner’s sentence provided any justice for Emily, nor for any other men or women who have experienced sexual assault. I do not think a light sentence will prevent Brock from making aggressive decisions in the future, particularly if he believes his actions have a slim chance of garnering repercussions.
I believe Brock Turner fully intended to rape Emily, not just digitally, but via coitus. I believe he intended to insert his penis in her vagina and ejaculate. I also believe he felt he could get away with it because it would just be a “bad hookup.” She wouldn’t remember and who would know? Despite Brock’s laughable testimony that she had an orgasm, the only real reason he was fingering Emily was to prep her for phase two.
If I were Brock’s judge, I would have sentenced him to seven years in a medium security prison. I say half the maximum sentence only because he was impeded from fulfilling his deliberate and malicious actions.
As Brock’s judge, I would have allowed him to be released one year early on the grounds that he demonstrated good behavior, issued a formal apology to Emily, showed genuine remorse, and agreed to speak on college campuses about sexual assault for the duration of his probation. Such punishment would show that the penal system shows no tolerance for rape, yet still favors rehabilitation.
I agree with Emily that Brock shouldn’t “rot in jail.” He has much longevity to seek atonement for his actions in whatever way he chooses and to make himself a useful, productive, and reasonably happy member of society. But those opportunities and rewards are to come at a heavy cost, and in time.
Brock Turner via the NY Times
It’s not that I don’t have a mild sense of empathy for Brock. I don’t enjoy seeing people suffer and he is a human being, albeit it a deeply disturbed and flawed one. In fact, I think there are some things Brock does deserve. The most obvious one is jail time: a revocation of all privileges. But he also deserves a therapist, suicide watch, and dialectal therapy, drug counseling and sexual assault counseling. He deserves to speak with a religious mentor if he desires. He deserves for someone to validate his potential and to teach him that although his net worth now is very low (note vomit sandwich comment) years of service will provide him with an opportunity to change his narrative. As people, we are the sum of our successes and our failures. As a society, we must have hope that our penal system has the capacity to both punish and renew.
That being said, I cannot be sure if Aaron Persky’s sentencing had anything to do with white male privilege as many outraged citizens claim (I think it probably does), but I can be sure of this. Just because Brock had potential and has potential, it does not excuse him from the consequences of his actions.
Brock’s meager defense in court was not only juvenile, but demonstrated a lack of remorse. He never admitted what he did, nor apologized for the ways in which his assault hurt Emily. Instead, Brock claimed alcohol was responsible for his poor decisions and made his assault sound like an awkward hookup. This is like blaming a school shooting on a gun. Alcohol is known for lowering inhibitions, not for eradicating empathy and morphing people into rapists. The assertive action here lies with the user. To prey upon the sick and weary is a wholly psychopathic thing to do. Reality is Brock cared naught for the well-being of this young woman in the slightest. He was careless and moreover reckless with human life.
In addition, Brock also lied about his past use of drugs and alcohol, initially claimed not to have plans to take Emily back to his dorm, and then changed his story after the fact. At first, Brock couldn’t remember how he and Emily ended up outside – by the dumpster. But by the time the court date rolled around, Brock was presumably very well groomed by his expensive lawyers. Suddenly, a very cute anecdote emerged, one where he and Emily were dancing and kissing during the night and even decided to leave together – to go back to his dorm. She fell and when he bent down to help her they somehow started fooling around. Suddenly she’s orgasming on the pavement, with blood and abrasions on her hands and legs, and is able to produce three affirmative yeses to Brock’s direct and formal questions about consensual sex. (If it sounds questionable to you, it’s because it is). I’m still not following Persky’s six month sentence here.
I think it is also valid that Brock’s parents deserve some culpability in the way the court proceedings transpired. Instead of showing disappointment in their son’s actions, they both wrote letters expressing how the events of January 18th had negatively affected Brock and that they feared a harsh punishment would severely hinder his future.
His mother, for example, bemoaned Persky’s mandate for Brock to be registered as a sex offender of a similar status as pedophiles…well yeah, raping an innocent, unconscious woman is much like raping a helpless child, lady. Both are defenseless. Carleen, Carleen. Brock is still your little boy, but you need to accept that he is also a rapist. Shielding him with your cardigan while he signs up for the registry is hardly going to make him any more of an honest man.
In that same vein, Brock’s father spent nearly two pages explaining how his son has always been popular, academic, and well-disciplined to attempt to build his character, emphasize his lack of prior criminal history, and convince the Judge he did not deserve jail time. Brock’s father refers to his son’s assault as “twenty minutes of action” negating the damage that was done during that time. All I have to say to Danny Turner is this: If a strange man did the things that Brock did to Emily to your wife, would you want him in jail?
Excerpt from Dan Turner's defense letter via Global News
In short, both parents’ letters lack a focus on Emily and both afford their son little responsibility in the matter. Truthfully, if Brock was able to treat many others with respect and show such discipline in other areas of life, his actions at that 2015 frat party are even more dark and perturbing. It makes one question what Brock is really like under his mask of gentility. Brock, you claimed in court you didn’t notice Emily had stopped responding during your “hookup.” Here’s a tip for you, sir. If you’re ever able to get a woman to have sex with you again, and you don’t notice she isn’t moving, you’re doing it wrong. Her hand brushing your back while she fades in and out of consciousness doesn’t count.
The fact that Brock Turner is requesting an appeal and seeks to negate his criminal actions underscores his privilege and further illuminates his lack of remorse. It is preposterous that after spending only three short months in jail he wishes to diminish his already lenient sentence even more. Here’s what Brock needs to accept. He has been kicked out of Stanford. He is banned from the US swim team for life. No Olympics. No more easy access. Even if he gets removed from the sex offender registry, his name will carry a negative connotation. A name change is observed via a casual background check. Brock needs to own up to his actions and rise from the ashes anew, as better person (hopefully) who contributes to society in the ways his parents keep promising.
Before I close out, I would like to acknowledge Emily, on behalf of people everywhere, for her strength and for her candor during the case. I hope she will summon the courage to fight back, a second time, at Brock’s retrial, should he be granted one. She has become a role model for sexual assault victims everywhere and her case has even helped broaden the definition of rape and raise the penalty for rape of an unconscious person in the state of California. For this, we should be grateful.
Please stand by Emily and sign a petition for California NOT to overturn Brock Turner’s sentence as a sex offender registrant. You can do so by clicking here.
Last, but not least, cheers to the two cyclists, who are heroes to women and to men, for not only doing the right thing and taking a stand in a less than agreeable situation, but also for reminding us all that kind, caring, and gentle people exist in a time when violence seems to run rampant. Maybe I will draw a couple bicycles to tack above my bed too.