Brock Allen Turner—a former Stanford swim team member—blames “party culture” and “drinking” for the night he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.
Turner was sentenced last week to six months in county jail, three years’ probation, and to register as a sex offender for the January 2015 crime. He was charged with assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person, and penetration of an unconscious person.
In a statement—which was recently obtained by the Guardian—to Judge Aaron Persky, Turner says that he “can never go back to being the person [he] was before that day. … I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night, let alone interact with [redacted]. I can barely hold a conversation with someone without having my mind drift into thinking these thoughts.”
Turner claims that the night in question has “ruined” his life. While he describes himself as the “sole proprietor” of what happened that night, he never acknowledges his role in sexually assaulting the victim.
Later in the letter, Turner goes on to blame the rape of his victim on “[drinking] too much” and “binge drinking and sexual promiscuity that protrudes through what people think is at the core of being a college student.”
Judge Persky told the Guardian that he “[takes Turner] at his word that subjectively that’s his version of his events. I’m not convinced that his lack of complete acquiescence to the verdict should count against him.”
Many have criticized the former for painting himself as the victim.
Brock Turner’s Statement in the Stanford Rape Case Proves He’s Still Blaming “Party Culture” for His Actions via @Cosmopolitan
— Martin Washington (@MartinWashi) June 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/740351011009769472
In light of the #BrockTurner reactions blaming “party culture,” here’s a yr old #RapeCulture img that still applies. pic.twitter.com/uXwTACsI3P
— CardsAgstHarassment (@CardsAgstHrsmt) June 8, 2016
BROCK TURNER. YOU COULDVE BEEN IN THE OLYMPICS BUT YOU FUCKED UP NOT ONLY YOUR CAREER BUT THE LIFE OF THE PERSON YOU RAPED
— elinor ✨ (@eluhnor) June 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/Tiffany_Amelia/status/740656089327374337
Below is an excerpt of Turner’s statement:
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 nineteen years of my life.
Not only have I altered my life, but I’ve also changed [redacted] and her family’s life. I am the sole proprietor of what happened on the night that these people’s lives were changed forever. I would give anything to change what happened that night. 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.
The thought of this is in my head every second of every day since this event has occurred. These ideas never leave my mind. During the day, I shake uncontrollably from the amount I torment myself by thinking about what has happened. I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night, let alone interact with [redacted].
I can barely hold a conversation with someone without having my mind drift into thinking these thoughts. They torture me. I go to sleep every night having been crippled by these thoughts to the point of exhaustion. I wake up having dreamt of these horrific events that I have caused. I am completely consumed by my poor judgement and ill thought actions. There isn’t a second that has gone by where I haven’t regretted the course of events I took on January 17th/18th.
My shell and core of who I am as a person is forever broken from this. I am a changed person. At this point in my life, I never want to have a drop of alcohol again. I never want to attend a social gathering that involves alcohol or any situation where people make decisions based on the substances they have consumed. I never want to experience being in a position where it will have a negative impact on my life or someone else’s ever again. 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.
All I can do from these events moving forward is by proving to everyone who I really am as a person. I know that if I were to be placed on probation, I would be able to be a benefit to society for the rest of my life. I want to earn a college degree in any capacity that I am capable to do so. And in accomplishing this task, I can make the people around me and society better through the example I will set. I’ve been a goal oriented person since my start as a swimmer. I want to take what I can from who I was before this situation happened and use it to the best of my abilities moving forward. I know I can show people who were like me the dangers of assuming what college life can be like without thinking about the consequences one would potentially have to make if one were to make the same decisions that I made.
I want to show that people’s lives can be destroyed by drinking and making poor decisions while doing so. One needs to recognize the influence that peer pressure and the attitude of having to fit in can have on someone. One decision has the potential to change your entire life. 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. But I never ever meant to intentionally hurt [redacted]. My poor decision making and excessive drinking hurt someone that night and I wish I could just take it all back.
If I were to be placed on probation, I can positively say, without a single shred of doubt in my mind, that I would never have any problem with law enforcement. Before this happened, I never had any trouble with law enforcement and I plan on maintaining that. I’ve been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behavior 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. These things force me to never want to put myself in a position where I have to sacrifice everything. 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. I will never put myself through an event where it will give someone the ability to question whether I really can be a betterment to society. I want no one, male or female, to have to experience the destructive consequences of making decisions while under the influence of alcohol. I want to be a voice of reason in a time where people’s attitudes and preconceived notions about partying and drinking have already been established. I want to let young people now, as I did not, that things can go from fun to ruined in just one night.
