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Stanford Rapist Brock Turner: ‘I Wish I Was Never Good at Swimming’

Brock Turner, the former Stanford University student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a Dumpster, blamed his crime on college “party culture.” The Guardian obtained the 20-year-old’s statement to Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky, in which he explains how his life has been “shattered.” Watch the video above to find out everything you need to know about the case.

“The night of January 17th changed my life and the lives of everyone involved forever,” he began, according to The Guardian. “I can never go back to being the person I was before that day. I am no longer a swimmer, a student, a resident of California, or the product of the work that I put in to accomplish the goals that I set out in the first 19 years of my life.”

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He continued: “I’ve lost two jobs solely based on the reporting of my case. I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so maybe the newspapers wouldn’t want to write stories about me.”

Brock Turner

In the lengthy letter, Turner mentioned the victim’s suffering. “I can never forgive myself for imposing trauma and pain on [redacted]. It debilitates me to think that my actions have caused her emotional and physical stress that is completely unwarranted and unfair,” he wrote. “During the day, I shake uncontrollably from the amount I torment myself by thinking about what has happened.”

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The Ohio native went on to argue why he should be sentenced to probation and not prison. Describing himself as a “goal-oriented person,” Turner suggested that he could make society better through the example he will set. “I know I can impact and change people’s attitudes towards the culture surrounded by binge drinking and sexual promiscuity that protrudes through what people think is at the core of being a college student,” he wrote. “I want to demolish the assumption that drinking and partying are what make up a college lifestyle. I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decisions hurt someone.”

Read the full letter here

As Us Weekly previously reported, two male graduate students were biking by the Dumpster on their way to a party on January 18, 2015, when they saw Turner on top of what appeared to be an unconscious woman. The guys tackled Turner after he attempted to escape, and then they called the police. Turner was convicted on three felony counts of sexual assault on Thursday, June 2. He was sentenced to just six months in jail because the judge believed a longer stint would have “a severe impact on him.”

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If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing and recovering, and more.

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