Santa Clara County Superior Judge Aaron Persky sentenced 20-year-old Brock Turner to six months in jail for raping an unconscious woman outside a frat party last year.
That's right -- only six months!
Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer, was convicted of three felonies for the rape that took place on the school's campus in January of 2015. He had faced up to 14 years in prison.
But Dan Turner, Brock Turner's dad, wrote a letter to the judge in the case saying jail time is "a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life."
Turner's light sentence is creating huge backlash on social media and has resulted in a petition to recall Judge Persky. As of Tuesday night, more than 480,000 people had signed the petition.
Turner reportedly stopped his assault after two Stanford graduate students from Sweden intervened and chased him away.
The victim in the case, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote a victim impact statement.
"You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today. The damage is done, no one can undo it," the victim read aloud in court. "And now we both have a choice. We can let this destroy us, I can remain angry and hurt and you can be in denial, or we can face it head on, I accept the pain, you accept the punishment, and we move on."
She also addressed other victims of sexual assault.
"On nights when you feel alone, I am with you," she said. "When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought every day for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you."
Turner was sent to the Santa Clara County Jail to begin his sentence. He will be required to register as a sex offender for life. He will also serve three years of probation.
Some argue that if Brock Turner were black or Latino, the likelihood of him getting just six months for a brutal sexual assault would be very slim.
In her statement, the victim anticipated that Turner would receive a light sentence because he was a star athlete at a prestigious university.
"If I had been sexually assaulted by an unathletic guy from a community college, what would his sentence be? If a first-time offender from an underprivileged background was accused of three felonies and displayed no accountability for his actions other than drinking, what would his sentence be?" she asked.
Unfortunately, many rape victims keep quiet because of shame, fear, or other reasons.
In the coming days, I hope to speak with a rape counselor about the number of sexual assault victims who don't speak up and whether athletes and the wealthy get special treatment when it comes to crimes of assault.
I mainly hope to offer some help, healing, and hope to victims who often suffer in silence.