Judge Aaron Persky cleared of misconduct in Brock Turner rape case, because everything sucks

California Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, the judge responsible for letting Stanford swimmer and convicted rapist Brock Turner off with what many felt was a shockingly light prison sentence, has been cleared from allegations of judicial misconduct, the Washington Post reports.

Turner could have faced up to 14 years in prison for his three felony counts (the prosecution was arguing for six years), but was instead sentenced to six months in county jail (he would serve just three) plus three years probation and a lifetime on the sex offender registry.

After the sentence was announced in June, the Commission on Judicial Performance, an independent state organization, began an investigation on Persky. Many people felt that as a former athlete and Stanford student, he sympathized with Turner and therefore went easy on him. Prior to the case, he had a reputation for being “tough on rape.”

Interestingly, the commissioner’s ruling notes that while the sentence was significantly lighter than the 14 year maximum punishment many hoped Turner would receive, it was “within the parameters set by law and was therefore within the judge’s discretion.”

“The judge’s sentence was consistent with the recommendation in the probation report, the purpose of which is to fairly and completely evaluate various factors and provide the judge with a recommended sentence,” said the commission, which voted unanimously to end its preliminary investigation of Persky, in a statement.

The probation report, which is available here, cites Turner’s lack of criminal history, his plans to graduate from college and his high intoxication level as reasons for a more lenient sentence.

“Based on the aforementioned information, a moderate county jail sentence, formal probation, and sexual offender treatment is respectfully recommended,” the report reads. The meaning of the word “moderate,” of course, is up for debate, and why Persky and the committee investigating him thought six month qualified remains something of a mystery.

So, yeah, maybe Persky’s ruling wasn’t far off from the recommendation made in the probation report. But that doesn’t make it any less fucked up — whether it was Persky, the probation officer, or the entire judicial system working in tandem that decided that based on his privilege and his athletic prowess, Brock Turner deserved to get off with what basically amounts to a slap on the wrist — it’s still wrong. It’s unfair and it perpetuates that idea that if you’re rich, educated and athletic enough, you can do whatever you want to women.

According to California state law: “In general, California state laws punish a conviction of rape with a sentence of imprisonment in state prison for 3, 6 or 8 years.”

Apparently, we’re not real interested as a society in getting to the bottom of why Turner — like so many other privileged, white collegiate athletes accused of similar crimes — didn’t receive a sentence more in line with both California state laws and common sense. But we should be, because until we start holding people like Turner and those responsible for punishing them accountable, nothing about rape culture is going to change.