After three-month sentence, Turner registers as sex offender

Associated Press

A former Stanford University swimmer whose six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman sparked a national outcry registered as a sex offender on Tuesday in Ohio, where he’s living with his parents.

Brock Turner registered at the Greene County sheriff’s office four days after he was released from a California jail for good behavior after serving half his term.

His mother tried to shield him from media cameras as he registered under his family’s Dayton-area address in Sugarcreek Township, where about a dozen people had protested Friday as police watched.

Sheriff Gene Fischer said Turner is being treated the same as any other sex offender under his office’s supervision.

Turner, 21, must register as a sex offender for life, checking in every three months, and he faces three years of supervised probation. Deputies will check on him without warning to make sure he hasn’t moved without permission.

Police took a complaint Monday about cars passing in front of Turner’s home and pictures being taken, according to copies of incident reports associated with the Turners’ address. The Associated Press obtained the records through a public records request.

Another report indicates an officer checking on the home Monday night found several broken eggs and an egg carton on the sidewalk and driveway.

Turner was convicted of assaulting the woman near a trash bin after they drank heavily at a fraternity party in January 2015. The woman passed out, and Turner was on top of her when confronted by two graduate students passing by on bicycles. The graduate students chased and tackled him when he tried to flee, holding him on the ground until police arrived.

A jury convicted Turner of sexual assault. Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail, citing the “extraordinary circumstances” of his youth, clean criminal record and other considerations in departing from the minimum sentence of two years in prison. Prosecutors had argued for six years.

Turner plans to appeal.

His case exploded on social media and ignited a debate about campus rape and the criminal justice system after a letter the accuser read at his sentencing was published online.

“I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives,” she wrote. “You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect.”

The furor grew after letters surfaced that Turner’s family and friends wrote urging the judge to be lenient. Turner’s father lamented that his son’s life was ruined by “20 minutes of action,” and his grandparents complained that “Brock is the only person being held accountable for the actions of other irresponsible adults.”