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| The Stanford Sexual Assault Case: What You May Have Missed | |
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| With much of the public’s attention focused on other news this past week, developments in the controversial Stanford sexual assault case may have escaped your notice. | |
| Here are some of the recent happenings: | Here are some of the recent happenings: |
| ■ In an unusual move, prosecutors on Tuesday had Judge Aaron Persky of the Santa Clara County Superior Court removed from hearing a case in which a male nurse was accused of sexually assaulting an anesthetized female patient. | ■ In an unusual move, prosecutors on Tuesday had Judge Aaron Persky of the Santa Clara County Superior Court removed from hearing a case in which a male nurse was accused of sexually assaulting an anesthetized female patient. |
| Prosecutors filed a peremptory challenge to Judge Persky after he dismissed charges against a woman in an unrelated misdemeanor theft trial on Monday. That objection automatically prevented him from presiding over a preliminary hearing in the sexual assault case. | Prosecutors filed a peremptory challenge to Judge Persky after he dismissed charges against a woman in an unrelated misdemeanor theft trial on Monday. That objection automatically prevented him from presiding over a preliminary hearing in the sexual assault case. |
| “We are disappointed and puzzled at Judge Persky’s unusual decision to unilaterally dismiss a case before the jury could deliberate,” the Santa Clara district attorney, Jeff Rosen, said in a statement. “After this and the recent turn of events, we lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing in which a male nurse sexually assaulted an anesthetized female patient.” | “We are disappointed and puzzled at Judge Persky’s unusual decision to unilaterally dismiss a case before the jury could deliberate,” the Santa Clara district attorney, Jeff Rosen, said in a statement. “After this and the recent turn of events, we lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing in which a male nurse sexually assaulted an anesthetized female patient.” |
| The nurse, Cecil Webb, is accused of touching the genitals and breasts of a sedated woman in 2014 at Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Clara Medical Center, according to The San Jose Mercury News. He was charged with a felony count of sexual battery. | The nurse, Cecil Webb, is accused of touching the genitals and breasts of a sedated woman in 2014 at Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Clara Medical Center, according to The San Jose Mercury News. He was charged with a felony count of sexual battery. |
| The backlash has also grown over what critics have denounced as the judge’s too-lenient sentence this month for Brock Allen Turner, 20, a former Stanford student and champion swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated, unconscious woman behind a Dumpster in January 2015. | The backlash has also grown over what critics have denounced as the judge’s too-lenient sentence this month for Brock Allen Turner, 20, a former Stanford student and champion swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated, unconscious woman behind a Dumpster in January 2015. |
| Judge Persky, 54, had been harshly criticized, and even threatened, for sentencing Mr. Turner to six months in jail and three years probation for three felony counts: intent to commit rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person. | Judge Persky, 54, had been harshly criticized, and even threatened, for sentencing Mr. Turner to six months in jail and three years probation for three felony counts: intent to commit rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person. |
| ■ On Monday, The Palo Alto Weekly published a scathing anonymous letter from a juror in the Stanford case who said he was “absolutely shocked and appalled” by the sentence. The publication said it had verified the letter writer’s identity by inspecting his court-issued attendance certificate. | ■ On Monday, The Palo Alto Weekly published a scathing anonymous letter from a juror in the Stanford case who said he was “absolutely shocked and appalled” by the sentence. The publication said it had verified the letter writer’s identity by inspecting his court-issued attendance certificate. |
| “After the guilty verdict, I expected that this case would serve as a very strong deterrent to on-campus assaults, but with the ridiculously lenient sentence that Brock Turner received, I am afraid that it makes a mockery of the whole trial and the ability of the justice system to protect victims of assault and rape,” the juror wrote. “Clearly there are few to no consequences for a rapist even if they are caught in the act of assaulting a defenseless, unconscious person.” | “After the guilty verdict, I expected that this case would serve as a very strong deterrent to on-campus assaults, but with the ridiculously lenient sentence that Brock Turner received, I am afraid that it makes a mockery of the whole trial and the ability of the justice system to protect victims of assault and rape,” the juror wrote. “Clearly there are few to no consequences for a rapist even if they are caught in the act of assaulting a defenseless, unconscious person.” |
| ■ At least 10 potential jurors have refused to work with Judge Persky in the new sexual assault trial, according to The San Jose Mercury News. | ■ At least 10 potential jurors have refused to work with Judge Persky in the new sexual assault trial, according to The San Jose Mercury News. |
| “I can’t believe what you did,” one juror said to the judge, referring to his sentence for Mr. Turner. | “I can’t believe what you did,” one juror said to the judge, referring to his sentence for Mr. Turner. |
| The judge responded to each complaint with “I understand” and dismissed the potential jurors. | The judge responded to each complaint with “I understand” and dismissed the potential jurors. |