Mom of Stanford Rapist Brock Turner Speaks Out, Continues to Ignore His Victim

The mother of convicted Stanford rapist Brock Turner wrote an open letter and refused to acknowledge his victim.

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Complex Original

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It may be time for Brock Turner’s family to stop speaking. After his father wrote he shouldn’t go to jail for "20 minutes of action," the convicted rapist’s mother is also speaking out and refuses to acknowledge his victim.

In an open letter to Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced the former Stanford swimmer to a mere six months (which is apparently still more time than 97 percent of other rapists), Carleen Turner penned a four-page letter which focused on the pain and suffering her family has endured.

"My first thought upon wakening every morning is ‘this isn’t real, this can’t be real. Why him? Why HIM? WHY? WHY?'" she wrote, according to the Fresno Bee. "I have cried every single day since Jan. 18."

She went on to say she has not decorated their new home because she can’t bear to put up happy pictures of their family, and that her son was just "trying to fit in with the swimmers he idolized."

Brock Turner was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old unconscious woman behind a dumpster outside of a frat house on Stanford’s campus in 2015. His victim wrote a powerful letter, read out loud at his sentencing, describing the “severe impact” the assault has had on her. It can be read in its entirety here

After Brock was sentenced to six months of the 14 years he faced, over one million people signed a petition to have Judge Persky removed from his position.

In addition to his parents, Turner’s 22-year-old sister also spoke out, saying, "His dreams were shattered in the course of an evening, but every action he took could have been prevented."

His grandparents, Carolyn and Richard Bradfield, added: "Brock is the only person being held accountable for the actions of other irresponsible adults."

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