Childhood Friend Defends Stanford Rapist Brock Turner, Indirectly Blames the Girl For Being Too Drunk
June 7, 2016
Another letter, this time by a woman, has been written in defense of the former Stanford swimmer who was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious 23-year-old woman behind a dumpster of a campus frat party.
Brock Turner, 20, was sentenced last Friday to six-months prison time by California Judge Aaron Persky on charges including assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.
Leslie Rasmussen, a childhood friend of Turner, penned a letter in defense of her elementary school friend, which she addressed to Judge Persky. In it, she describes Turner as a sweetheart who once dated her good friend, Lydia Pocisk, in high school. Rasmussen shared her idea of how the events unfolded that night.
“I am not backing it up or making excuses, but there is absolutely no way Brock went out that night with rape on his mind. I think he went to a party and was drinking, like almost every student at a university does, and was flirting with this girl, like he said. The woman recalls how much alcohol she drank, which was a lot. She was no doubt about to black out of it not already. I’m sure she and Brock had been flirting at this party and decided to leave together. Just as they did she passes out, which after that many drinks, anyone would. At the same time, Brock, having a few too many drinks himself, is not completely in control of his emotions. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that alcohol increases emotions and feelings. I think this is all a huge misunderstanding.”
According to Rasmussen, the victim’s loss of memory does not qualify as evidence to justify a lengthy sentence.
“Brock is not a monster. He is the furthest thing from anything like that, and I have known him much longer than the people involved in his case. I don’t think it’s fair to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him.”
Rasmussen believes that political correctness and the university drinking culture is to blame.
“I am not blaming her directly for this, because that isn’t right. But where do we draw the line and stop worrying about being politically correct every second of the day and see that rape on campuses isn’t always because people are rapists.”
She continued:
“This is completely different from a woman getting kidnapped and raped as she is walking to her car in a parking lot. That is a rapist. There are not rapists. These are idiot boys and girls having too much to drink and not being aware of their surroundings and having clouded judgment.”
The full letter can be read below:
Though individuals have the right to voice their opinions, others are quick to criticize. Unfortunately another woman who was mistaken for Rasmussen, has been harassed on Twitter.
h/t: NYMag
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