Father of convicted Stanford swimmer writes a letter defending his son

Days after former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, 20, was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault on an unconscious woman, a letter written prior to his sentencing by his father, Dan Turner, has come to light. In the letter, Dan defends his son, highlighting his athletic accomplishments and bemoaning the fact that his "life has been deeply altered forever by the events of January 17th and 18th." Rather than calling those events rape, Brock's father instead labels them as a mere "20 minutes of action" for which his son must now pay a "steep price."

He then describes the numerous ways in which his son's life has been changed, including his "weakened voice, his lack of appetite" and the disappearance of "his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile." The effects of his son's actions on his victim go unmentioned:

The real issues at stake, Dan contends, are the "dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity" — a defense Brock's victim specifically called out during the trial. "You realize, having a drinking problem is different than drinking and then forcefully trying to have sex with someone? Show men how to respect women, not how to drink less," she said, according to the full statement she provided to BuzzFeed.

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Brock has been convicted of three sexual assault charges, including assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. He faces six months in prison and probation.