Stanford sex attacker may have sent picture of victim to friend
THE Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault in a case that has inflamed US public opinion may have sent a photograph of his victim’s breasts to friends during the attack.
Two bystanders found Brock Turner, 20, assaulting an unconscious woman on the university’s campus in January 2015 and restrained him until police ar- rived. Detectives subsequently saw a notification appear on Turner’s phone reading: “WHOS TIT IS THAT” [sic], court documents show.
The message came from a fellow member of Stanford’s swimming team.
Based on the timing of the message and the fact that the victim’s bra had been pulled off one of her breasts, police concluded that Turner had probably sent a photograph, though after obtaining a search warrant for his phone they were unable to locate it.
The message was sent in the GroupMe application, which allows any member of a group to delete an image. “Detectives were unable to locate the text from the ‘GroupMe’ application, or any photos related to the text,” prosecutors wrote in the People’s Sentencing Memorandum, though police noted during the trial that pictures taken on thirdparty applications are difficult to trace.
A search of Turner’s phone found photographs and text messages relating to drug and alcohol use, despite a key facet of his defence being that he was an inexperienced drinker caught up in the party culture on campus.
Turner was sentenced to six months in jail last week.
Once seen as a future Olympian, he has been banned for life by USA Swimming. A letter Turner’s victim read at trial spread widely online and, combined with the short jail term, led to widespread anger and disgust at a university culture that many claim tolerates sexual violence.
“A year or less in county jail is a soft time-out, a mockery of the seriousness of his assaults, an insult to me and all women,” the victim’s letter reads.
“How fast Brock swims does not lessen the severity of what happened to me,” it continues, “and should not lessen the severity of his punishment.”
A petition to recall the judge who issued the sentence has gained more than one million signatures and three leading political consultants have given their backing.
Protests are planned for today’s graduation ceremony at Stanford.
Last night, a letter written in support of Turner by his former girlfriend emerged. Lydia Pocisk wrote that Turner was “the best guy I have ever gotten to know” and “deserving of nothing but the best”. She wrote in the letter, obtained by the MailOnline, she was angry with God “for instilling such pain on such an undeserving soul”.