Stanford swimmer’s victim withdraws from campus plaque plan

Mugshot of Brock Turner (Photo By State of California, Public Domain)

SAN FRANCISCO — A woman sexually assaulted by a former Stanford University swimmer said Monday she will no longer participate in the school’s plan to place a plaque near the on-campus fraternity house where the assault occurred.

Michele Dauber, a Stanford professor who publicly represents the victim who wishes to remain anonymous, said that the university rejected quotes for the plaque from the statement the victim read during the January 2016 sentencing of Brock Turner. Turner served three months in jail after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting the young woman behind a trash bin during an on-campus fraternity party. Turner must also register as a sex offender.

Stanford spokesman Ernest Miranda said one of the victim’s proposed quotes was inappropriate and the other may upset other sexual assault victims.

Miranda said the university agreed to suggestions made by the victim and Dauber to turn the on-campus site of the assault into a garden and “contemplative space.”

Dauber said the university’s suggested quotes from the victim statement are out of context and mischaracterized her position.

Miranda said the victim rejected three of the university’s proposed quotes and talks over what to inscribe on the plaque ended without a resolution.

Known in court as Emily Doe to protest her identity, the statement she read at Turner’s sentencing detailed the assault, the investigation and her reluctant participation in Turner’s trial and called for better treatment of sexual assault victims. The statement was widely circulated on social media.

The case itself also prompted nationwide protests and criticism of the justice system’s treatment of sexual assault victims.

Dauber leads a campaign to remove Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky from office because of his sentence of Turner. The campaign gathered enough signatures to place the recall election on the June ballot.