Dear Judge Aaron Persky,
I wish to say until the Brock Turner case came to light, I have never heard your name before. However, this case has probably brought your name to more conversations than you ever thought was possible and not in the best of light to shine on you as a judge or a person.
I hear so many stories of letters written to you from family and friends and even Brock Turner himself, which you admit played a role in your decision. Well, I decided to write you an open letter on behalf of the young woman. I do not know her name, nor would I post it publically if I did. However, I do know what she will endure for many years to come.
You made a mockery of the term 'rape' by handing down such a sentence. You took pity on a rapist. You showed him mercy. YOU inadvertently raped this poor woman once again.
Yes, no amount of reasoning on your part or the family of Brock Turner will make that last statement untrue. When a woman is violated in such a manner, her attacker steals from her some very important aspects of her being.
Brock Turner stole this woman's trust, her ability to feel safe with intimacy, her innocence which comes in making the decision whether or not to be intimate. He stole from her the life she was on her own path to achieve, because now, her rape will consume her thoughts, the way she looks at the world, and relevantly the way she will look at relationships in the future.
Judge Aaron Persky, by siding with this rapist, you have proven to this woman and others like her, that in your court room there is no feeling for what she has gone through. The humiliation of her attack. The unclean feeling she will inevitably feel after each and every time she has intimate relations for many years to come. You've diminished what has happened to her, and have told the world that what happened to her didn't matter in fact, your sentence and compassion for her rapist, proved you of all people in a position to uphold the law, did not in fact, uphold the law at all.
A victim goes to court to face their attacker, to prove to themselves their attacker will get punished for what they've done. This is step one of the healing process for the victim. When you showed compassion for a man who committed such a horrible crime against another human being, you did not put yourself in a good light. I'm sure you realize this now.
To Brock Turners father. You sicken me. You downplay your son's crime as if he were just a boy being a boy. Oh he had too much to drink. Yeah, well, I am sure others had too much to drink that night too and did not end up in jail for rape. You're outraged at all the media attention this case is getting. Too bad. If your son had not chosen to rape a woman, drinking or not, then he would not be in the media today. If you had taken responsibility as a father, and forced your son to take responsibility for his actions instead of downplaying his crime to him and the world, then maybe this would not be a media sensation right now.
Your son committed a crime. A very lifelong traumatizing crime for his victim. Sure now your son won't have the future you and he had planned for him, but what about his victim's future? Do you not believe her future has been altered by this? You sir, are too arrogant if you believe otherwise.
Your son received a very light sentence for such a horrible act. Do you think this will teach him a lesson? If so, you are gravely mistaken. And sir, plan to bail him out again and again and again. He nor you are thinking of anyone but yourselves in this situation. This is clear from the letters all of you have written in regards to this matter.
To the young woman who has gone through this heartbreaking experience. Please know you can survive this, you can become the person you hoped to be. Please seek counseling, because as a survivor myself I know what counseling can do to help you regain your self-esteem and help you to take ahold of your life once again. Don't get down on yourself when you feel it is taking longer than you think it should to get back on your feet. Time will help you heal. This will change you, but it is up to you how you allow it to change you.
Please know you are not alone in this. Know there are others out there who have experienced similar situations and they are willing to help you.
Lastly, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for what you have endured from both Brock and Judge Aaron Persky. You did not deserve this.
I wish to say until the Brock Turner case came to light, I have never heard your name before. However, this case has probably brought your name to more conversations than you ever thought was possible and not in the best of light to shine on you as a judge or a person.
I hear so many stories of letters written to you from family and friends and even Brock Turner himself, which you admit played a role in your decision. Well, I decided to write you an open letter on behalf of the young woman. I do not know her name, nor would I post it publically if I did. However, I do know what she will endure for many years to come.
You made a mockery of the term 'rape' by handing down such a sentence. You took pity on a rapist. You showed him mercy. YOU inadvertently raped this poor woman once again.
Yes, no amount of reasoning on your part or the family of Brock Turner will make that last statement untrue. When a woman is violated in such a manner, her attacker steals from her some very important aspects of her being.
Brock Turner stole this woman's trust, her ability to feel safe with intimacy, her innocence which comes in making the decision whether or not to be intimate. He stole from her the life she was on her own path to achieve, because now, her rape will consume her thoughts, the way she looks at the world, and relevantly the way she will look at relationships in the future.
Judge Aaron Persky, by siding with this rapist, you have proven to this woman and others like her, that in your court room there is no feeling for what she has gone through. The humiliation of her attack. The unclean feeling she will inevitably feel after each and every time she has intimate relations for many years to come. You've diminished what has happened to her, and have told the world that what happened to her didn't matter in fact, your sentence and compassion for her rapist, proved you of all people in a position to uphold the law, did not in fact, uphold the law at all.
A victim goes to court to face their attacker, to prove to themselves their attacker will get punished for what they've done. This is step one of the healing process for the victim. When you showed compassion for a man who committed such a horrible crime against another human being, you did not put yourself in a good light. I'm sure you realize this now.
To Brock Turners father. You sicken me. You downplay your son's crime as if he were just a boy being a boy. Oh he had too much to drink. Yeah, well, I am sure others had too much to drink that night too and did not end up in jail for rape. You're outraged at all the media attention this case is getting. Too bad. If your son had not chosen to rape a woman, drinking or not, then he would not be in the media today. If you had taken responsibility as a father, and forced your son to take responsibility for his actions instead of downplaying his crime to him and the world, then maybe this would not be a media sensation right now.
Your son committed a crime. A very lifelong traumatizing crime for his victim. Sure now your son won't have the future you and he had planned for him, but what about his victim's future? Do you not believe her future has been altered by this? You sir, are too arrogant if you believe otherwise.
Your son received a very light sentence for such a horrible act. Do you think this will teach him a lesson? If so, you are gravely mistaken. And sir, plan to bail him out again and again and again. He nor you are thinking of anyone but yourselves in this situation. This is clear from the letters all of you have written in regards to this matter.
To the young woman who has gone through this heartbreaking experience. Please know you can survive this, you can become the person you hoped to be. Please seek counseling, because as a survivor myself I know what counseling can do to help you regain your self-esteem and help you to take ahold of your life once again. Don't get down on yourself when you feel it is taking longer than you think it should to get back on your feet. Time will help you heal. This will change you, but it is up to you how you allow it to change you.
Please know you are not alone in this. Know there are others out there who have experienced similar situations and they are willing to help you.
Lastly, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for what you have endured from both Brock and Judge Aaron Persky. You did not deserve this.