Brock Turner’s letter to judge: Ex-Stanford student blames ‘party culture’ for his sexual assault of his victim

Brock Turner was a victim of Stanford University’s “party culture” and “sexual promiscuity.” In his letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky before he was sentenced to just six months of prison, Turner blamed a lot of things for his sexual assault of an unconscious young woman behind a dumpster last year.

On Wednesday, the New York Times published the letter Turner wrote before he was sentenced. The 20-year-old swimming athlete, who was kicked out of Stanford following the incident, pleaded for Persky for leniency, claiming he was suffering from the whole ordeal.

“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,” he claimed.

He blamed a lot of things for the incident, adding he was a victim of the “party culture and risk-taking behaviour” at Stanford University. He also blamed alcohol for his predicament. He lamented on his lost future, which he claimed would have been bright as he had chance to swim in the Olympics.

“I’ve been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behaviour that I briefly experienced in my four months at school,” he wrote. “I’ve lost my chance to swim in the Olympics. I’ve lost my ability to obtain a Stanford degree. I’ve lost employment opportunities, my reputation and

He ended the letter with a goal: to be “a voice of reason in a time where people’s attitudes and preconceived notions about partying and drinking have already been established.”

Turner said he could educate young people that “things can go from fun to ruined in just one evening.”

Read: Brock Turner, US student convicted of sexual assault, finally gets his mugshot released

His victim, whose name has been withheld by the court and is only known as Emily Doe, suffered a great deal from the sexual assault. She was unconscious while Turner was assaulting her, and she was only saved when two Swedish students, Carl-Frederik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, intervened and held Turner until the police arrived.

Read: Brock Turner sexual assault: Hero Swedish grad students who stopped rape speak up

Emily Doe also wrote a letter in court to address Turner. The 7,000-word letter eloquently detailed the suffering she has endured and continue to endure from the attack. She also recalled how Turner and his legal team continuously victimised her and tried to discredit her in court. Then she told him how angry she felt when she thought he would finally own up to his crime and apologise to her for his actions, only for him to deny culpability.

The victim’s powerful letter has since become viral, adding fuel to the already burgeoning outrage over Turner’s soft sentence.

Read her full letter here.

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