By letting Stanford rapist get away, America just put women on trial

A verdict in a rape case has enraged America with the public and advocates blasting a California judge’s decision to give the perpetrator a light sentence.

The anger erupted after the judge gave a former Stanford swimmer a six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, last week. It is too lenient, advocates and the public say.

Here are the facts of the case: Brock Turner, 20, was convicted in March of the intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person.

He was arrested on January 18, 2015 after two men riding bicycles on the Stanford campus spotted him on top of the unconscious woman.  He tried to flee but was caught by the two men and held until the police arrived. (In America, the names of the rape survivors are not made public).

A criminal report says that Turner and the survivor both attended the same fraternity party on that evening.

He admitted to the police that he had “hooked up” with the 23-year-old woman but could not recall her name.

The woman was found behind the dumpster, unconscious but breathing and was hospitalised. He withdrew from classes and was barred from Stanford, while the university conducted the investigation.

The maximum sentence in cases like Turner's is 14 years, but prosecutors had requested that the judge sentence him for six years.

The judge Aaron Persky, 54, said on Thursday that Turner’s age and lack of criminal history made him feel that imposing a six-month jail sentence with probation was appropriate. Turner will also have to register as a sex offender.

“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,” Persky said in court.

“I think he will not be a danger to others.”

But since that ruling, women, advocates and ordinary citizens have harshly criticised the judge demanding that he resign or be removed and he has been bombarded by threats of violence against him and his family.

"People have been calling the court, leaving messages and if someone answers they say, 'Tell your judge he can go to hell and I hope his kids get raped and he rots in hell,'" said Gary Goodman, an attorney, who has defended the judge.

The judge is a Stanford alumnus and that’s why his ruling is biased, the public has alleged. And since the ruling, more than 4,00,000 people have signed a petition to recall Persky, a possibility in California where judges are elected.

“Judge Persky failed to see that the fact that Brock Turner is a white male star athlete at a prestigious university does not entitle him to leniency,” the petition said.

The case attracted the nation’s attention after Buzzfeed published a powerful, emotional and compelling statement by the victim, who listed the many ways in which the trauma had affected her and her family.

She made a strong case that male and class privilege had influenced the trial and sentence and everyone was quick to agree with her. Her 7,2 44-word statement, which she read out in the courtroom first has been viewed by 4.5 million times.

She addressed the letter to Turner and she said, "You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today."

The public furore grew even louder after a letter released by the defendant father said that his son’s life had been ruined. He described his son as being “broken” and “shattered”.

"His life will never be the one 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."

He also says that his son “has lost his appetite” and his “swimming” rights. People have mocked and scorned the father’s emotions.

The duelling letters have ripped the nation apart and reignited conversations about sexual assault, rape culture and racial disparities in sentencing laws for sex crimes.

Sexual-assault advocates say this case clearly shows why so many survivors do not report assault to police or choose to testify in drawn-out trials that could end in sentences that, in this woman’s case, are widely considered a slap on the wrist.

Women’s groups say that the judge is sending a clear message that if the perpetrator is a high achiever like Turner, then no woman on college campus will ever get justice.

They point out the two divergent narratives of the victim and perpetrator.

During the trial, Brock’s high priced attorneys had painted a portrait of the client for the jury. He was the white, blond-haired, blue-eyed student and a talented athlete with a bright future ahead of him.

Reporters following his case described him as an “All-American swimmer” and the victim, as she recalled in her letter, as an “unconscious intoxicated woman.”

Victim shaming in rape cases isn’t new but women advocates have been petitioning for change for decades now and they say they are deeply disappointed.

The defenders for the judge say that he has discretion in passing down a sentence and he should be allowed to do his job. The verdict, he said, has to be accepted by the public.

Stanford University has said in a statement that the school did “everything within its power to assure justice was served in this case”.

Meanwhile, the public is staying vocal in expressing their anger and outrage on social media and other forums.