Was Brock Turner A Rapist?

On January 17, 2015 a young, unconscious woman was sexually assaulted by a Yale student, Brock Turner. He had stuck various objects into the woman’s vagina and when he was finished he disposed her body behind a dumpster. The police found the woman half naked and unconscious with her underwear beside her. The woman was unaware of the assault until she woke up the next morning and the nurses in the hospital informed her. Brock Turner and the woman went to court and he was sentenced to a mere six months in the Santa Clara County jail in California. However, he was released after serving only three months because false technicalities were used to prove he did not rape the woman. Brock Turner is a rapist because he raped an unconscious woman and should have served a longer sentence.

Throughout the trial, Brock Turner’s defense sustained his complete innocence. Brock Turner even testified that the woman consented to all his sexual activity with her and that she was conscious (Knowles). This claim is false because a witness saw the incident and did not state that the woman was conscious. Hannah Knowles states that,

Both Brock Turner and the woman had drank heavily that night. The woman’s blood alcohol content at the time has been estimated at three times the legal driving limit. Brock Turner’s blood alcohol content was two times the limit. Brock Turner’s defense argued that the woman may have consented but cannot recall the memory of it because of the alcoholic blackout (Knowles). However, if both parties were heavily affected by alcohol, then Brock Turner cannot recall memories from the sexual assault. The woman could have denied consent to the sexual activity but he continued anyway and now he does not have the ability to remember. Although, both Brock Turner and the woman were severely impaired by alcohol that does not mean rape is