What former Stanford swimmer said in court about sexual assault
MILPITAS, Calif. - In a probation report obtained by CBS News, Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexual assault, apologized to his victim in a statement to the court and expressed remorse for his actions.
"I would give anything to change what happened that night," Turner said in the statement. "I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decisions hurt someone."
Read Turner's full statement below. (Warning: The following content is graphic and may be disturbing.)
Brock Turner Statement by CBSNewsPolitics
The former Stanford swimmer is serving a six-month jail penalty for three counts of sexual assault, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. The sentencing itself has become controversial, as many call it too lenient.
"The judge really bent over backwards in order to give this young man a light sentence," Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber said.
Hundreds of thousands are calling for the judge who handed down the punishment, Aaron Persky, to be removed from the bench. But others say he was fair.
In an interview for the probation report last month, the victim herself said: "I want him to be punished, but as a human I just want him to get better... He doesn't need to be behind bars."
"Judge Persky did a tremendous job in deriving this sentence," public defender Gary Goodman said.
Goodman knows Persky well and said he doesn't deserve the backlash he's receiving.
"The fact that people are calling his courtroom and threatening him and his family, hoping that he dies badly... I mean that's just ridiculous," Goodman said.
Persky received at least 39 letters from Turner's family and friends advocating for the 20-year-old. His sister wrote "a series of alcohol-fueled decisions...will define him for the rest of his life."
Turner's sexual assault conviction stems from a 2015 fraternity party on Stanford's campus. Witnesses described the victim as "lying on her back motionless" while Turner "aggressively thrusted his hips into her" in the grass near a dumpster.
"She was unconscious. And I checked her and she didn't move at all," witness Carl-Fredrik Arndt said.
When the victim read an emotional letter in court last week, she said she was "severely disappointed" by his failure to "exhibit remorse or responsibility."
On campus, the reaction to her letter has been "absolute outrage," said Stephanie Pham of the Stanford Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention.
"Social media has been on fire. People are angry, they are frustrated and they want to find a place to direct that energy," Pham said.
According to The Stanford Daily, the school newspaper, a protest is being planned for commencement this Sunday.