斯坦福大学前游泳运动员因强暴罪被判刑六个月

AS IT IS 2016-06-07 Six Month Jail Time For Stanford Swimmer Draws Outrage 斯坦福大学前游泳运动员因强暴罪被判刑六个月

Many Americans are criticizing a six-month jail sentence given to a former Stanford University student for raping¹ an unconscious woman.

Aaron Persky is a judge with the Superior Court of Santa Clara County in California. He sentenced 20-year-old Brock Turner to six months in a county jail and three years of probation² under the court’s supervision³.

Turner will also have to complete a sex-offender⁴ management program and register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.

Government lawyers had asked for a six-year state prison sentence.

The woman Turner raped⁶ read an emotional statement in court before the sentencing. She described the painful details of being examined by medical workers after the attack.

The woman also described how the sexual assault hurt her emotionally.

“My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition,” she said. Along with other emotions, she said, she became closed off, angry, tired and empty.

Her statement has “gone viral” – and is being shared all over the internet. News media are not identifying the victim, which is their policy in sexual assault cases.

Turner was a swimmer at Stanford, one of the nation’s top universities.

Brock Turner’s father, Dan A. Turner, also wrote to the court before the sentencing last week. The Washington Post reports that Dan Turner wrote a letter saying his son should receive probation, not jail time.

"That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life,” the father wrote. “He will never be his happy go-lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile,” he added.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen criticized the letter for calling the sexual assault “20 minutes of action.” He also criticized Turner for not accepting responsibility for the crime.

“To this day, the defendant⁷ denies what he did,” Rosen told The Washington Post. He added that Brock Turner “preyed upon” the woman and displayed violence.

After the sentencing last Thursday, Rosen released a statement, according to the Associated Press. "The punishment does not fit the crime," he said. "The sentence does not factor in the true seriousness of this sexual assault, or the victim's ongoing⁹ trauma¹⁰. Campus rape⁵ is no different than off-campus rape. Rape is rape."

Last March, Turner was found guilty of three felony sexual assault counts for the attack. It happened in January 2015. Two graduate students found Turner assaulting the unconscious woman. She was behind a trash container with only some of her clothes on.

Turner tried to flee, but the students grabbed him and held him down until police arrived and arrested him.

Both the victim and Turner had blood-alcohol levels above the legal limits, according to The San Jose Mercury News.

The victim remembered drinking alcohol, but not the attack. She writes that she remembered waking up at a hospital in San Jose. A police deputy told her she may have been a victim of a sexual assault.

“I stood there examining my body beneath the stream of water and decided¹¹, I don't want my body anymore. I was terrified of it," the woman wrote in her letter to Turner and Judge Persky that she read in the courtroom during the sentencing.

She said she wanted to take off her body, and leave it at the hospital.

In an editorial, the San Jose Mercury News called the six-month county jail sentence “a slap on the wrist.”

Words in This Story

unconscious - adj. not aware of what is happening, not conscious

probation - n. supervision by a law enforcement official to make sure the person is obeying the law

convicted - adj. been found guilty of a crime

distort - v. to change something in bad way

prey⁸ - v. to hunt and hurt someone

steep - adj. very high

trauma - n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

felony - n. a serious crime

slap on the wrist - phrase. very light punishment

1 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

2 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

3 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

4 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。