Brock Turner’s mother is finally speaking out. In a letter made public on Friday, June 10, the convicted rapist’s mother, Carleen, pleaded with Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky not to send Brock to prison for fear that it would be a “death sentence” for her son.
“I beg of you, please don’t send him to jail/prison,” she wrote. “Look at him. He won’t survive it. He will be damaged forever and I fear he would be a major target. Stanford boy, college kid, college athlete — all the publicity. This would be a death sentence for him.”
Carleen goes on to detail the merits of her 20-year-old son, pointing to the fact that he has thus far lived “an exemplary life” that would be irreversibly destroyed by a jail sentencing.
“He has never been in trouble, never even had a demerit in high school, he studied, swam worked hard,” she continued. “His dreams have been shattered by this. No NCAA Championships. No Stanford degree, no swimming in the Olympics (and I honestly know he would have made a future team), no medical school, no becoming an Orthopedic surgeon.”
Brock was sentenced to six months in jail with three years probation last week, but will reportedly only serve three of the light six-month jail sentence. Online inmate records show that the college student was booked on Thursday, June 2, with an expected release date of September 2.
In her letter, Carleen also points out that the public’s assumption that Brock is benefiting from the privilege of a wealthy family is untrue, noting that her two other children have collectively accumulated $150,000 in student loan debt, and that she and her husband are a “working middle-class couple with Midwestern values.” (The Turners are from Oakwood, Ohio.)
“There have been many references to Brock being from a wealthy, privileged background and he thinks he is entitled,” she wrote. “Your honor, this could not be further from the truth. We do NOT come from money, rather the opposite.”
Carleen’s letter does not mention the unnamed victim, but does also note that the 2015 incident and its subsequent legal hearings have “destroyed” her family.
“I know what a broken heart feels like. It is a physical pain that starts just below the collar bone and extends to below the rib cage, it is a crushing and heavy ache that feels like I am being squeezed,” she wrote. “This feeling has not left my body since the verdict. This verdict has destroyed us.”
Last week, Brock’s father, Dan, sparked outrage online when his letter to Judge Persky was made public.
In it, he described the rape as “20 minutes of action” and complained that his son no longer had the appetite to eat the “big ribeye steak” that was always his favorite food.
“His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,” Dan wrote. “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life.”
USA Swimming released a statement on Monday, June 6, noting that they have banned Brock from competing in or taking part in any USA Swimming events (including Olympic trials).
