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PALO ALTO, Calif. (KTVU) - History of Partying
During his trial, Turner claimed that his inexperience with the drinking and party culture of college partially contributed to his actions.
The court documents also detail that Turner was arrested on November 14th at 2014. In the incident a deputy saw a group of males on campus with what appeared to be beer cans. When the officer approached them, the males began to briskly walk away, before running. Police later arrested Turner and learned he had discarded a backpack with Coors Light beers inside. Turner also had a fake ID.
The court documents also revealed evidence that was shown to the jury, including photos of the victim. One of the photos showed the victim in the fetal position on the ground while others showed debris in her hair, and her underwear on the ground.
Possible Deleted Text
According to the documents, shortly after Turner was arrested, detectives noticed a text message in a Group Me app on his phone that said "Who's (sic) tits are those?" A search warrant for the phone was obtained, but detectives were unable to locate the text from Group Me or any photos related to the text. According to the court document, detectives learned the images are not stored in the phone and can be deleted by any member in the group.
In the documents there's information from two other women who had an encounter with Turner the weekend before the assault. A woman and her friend went to the school and attended a fraternity party where one of the women was introduced to Turner. The two women were dancing on a table when Turner joined them on the table. She told detectives she felt uncomfortable and tried to turn her body away from him but he was being flirtatious and really "touchy." She felt uncomfortable and got off the table. According to the court documents, she said Turner "creeped" her out because of his persistence.
The Deputy District Attorney argued that the Probation Department's recommendation that the defendant be sentenced to a moderate term in County Jail, "which is generally four to six months, does not adequately take into account the seriousness of the defendant's crimes." The argument cited Turner's pattern of behavior stating, the need to ensure "he will not be a danger to the community. According to the document, the Deputy District Attorney argued a moderate term would not reflect the impact the case had on the victim or the community. The argument noted, "Campus sexual assaults have been rampant across the country, however, the circumstances of this case are exceptionally more serious than those that typically occur. The fact that two independent bystanders had to intervene to prevent the defendant from completing the rape, makes this case more egregious than other cases of assault with intent to commit rape. The defendant's attempt to flee, and his physical attempts to continue to get away from the Good Samaritans who caught and restrained him, further illustrate the threat and menace the defendant posed to the victim and the community at large." The argument also states the Defendant was "on the prowl" and tried to "hook up" with women who were strangers to him, who were "clearly not interested in his sexual advances." The argument also notes the incident of the woman who met Turner at a frat party and felt uncomfortable a week earlier.
The charges Turner faced in the sexual assault carried a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Judge Persky did not comment on the prosecution's claims before issuing his controversial ruling.