Dear Brock Allen Turner,

We have never had the pleasure of meeting and for that, I must say I’m grateful for the miles that separate us. You recently just got off with six months for committing one of the most disgusting crimes a person can do, rape. Congratulations. I am so happy that after ruining a girl’s life, you can go to jail for a half a year and then continue merrily about your way. Your case truly broke my heart, not only for your victim but for women in general. It tells me that her safety (any woman’s safety) does not matter. That if any man attacks a woman, if he’s white and an athlete and has a rich daddy, he can walk away unscathed for the crimes he’s committed. But I forget, you’re suffering too. Poor you. You can’t eat your favorite snacks and you can’t sleep and your swimming career is over. The girl you raped will be marked by this event for the rest of her life. She will see your face in the faces of men she doesn’t know. She will be scared that every man is going to try to hurt her the way you did. She will be triggered by the smallest things that remind her of your face for years after this. But you can’t eat pretzels, so I guess it evens itself out.

While I’m here, I want to take the time to also address your dad and the judge that helped you overlook the consequences. To your dad, you called what Brock Turner did “20 minutes of action.” Action. He was found guilty of rape and you have the nerve to call it action. I don’t care that he is your son. How dare you disrespect that victim by still pretending that her rape was just a hookup. It wasn’t. You don’t get to disregard that fact just because you don’t want it to be true. We all wish it hadn’t happened, but it did.

And to Judge Aaron Petsky. After a jury found this boy guilty on three counts of sexual assault, you gave him a lighter sentence because “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.” What about the severe impact of the victim who has not received justice? What about the severe message this case sends thousands of girls around the country? But I guess asking to punish equally and fairly is too much of a judge. And he is not a danger to others? He was and is a danger to every woman he comes into contact to and you chose to protect him rather than the women he will come across every day. Brock Turner is not the only problem with rape and rape culture. You and his father are too.

You don’t know me, but all of this has altered my life too. It let me know that in the eyes of a legal system, you are somehow more important than me, even if you are wrong. That America is more invested in protecting its athletes than it is in protecting its girls. I hope you live happily ever after just like daddy paid for. Don’t forget to put yourself on the sex offender registry.

From,