PALO ALTO, CA (KRON) – Brock Turner is convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and is serving his 6-month sentence now. The former Stanford student could face a larger legal lawsuit once he gets out of jail.
Legal experts say it is not just Turner, but whoever gave him all that alcohol could be sued.
Brock Turner blamed a party culture for consuming large amounts of alcohol the night he was discovered and convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster following a Stanford fraternity party.MORE: Ex-Stanford swimmer’s sexual assault victim reads letter in court
“Obviously, this has been a very traumatic event for the victim and the damages in this case that would be requested which seek to compensate her for what happened to her and for the mental anguish she suffered,” defense attorney and former prosecutor Steve Clark said. “So certainly that could add up to a big dollar amount.”
Clark predicts what could be next for Turner and said the victim could also go after the fraternity.
“He was under the legal drinking age and he was consuming alcohol and presumptively being provided alcohol during this party,” he said.
The victim could also go after Stanford itself.
“Certainly if there was an unsafe environment created as a result of campus drinking and the sexual assault can be linked to that, that would bring the school in on potentially a civil case,” Clark said.RELATED: Witches gather online to hex Brock Turner
Stanford has defended itself in this case saying it reached out to the victim and tried to provide assistance. Also, the school said that it swiftly banned Turner for life from the school.
“This is an issue of national import and looking at not just what Brock Turner did, but the environment that was created that allowed this to occur is really an important broad policy question to answer,” Clark said.
KRON News has reached out to those in contact with the victim and they said there are no plans to currently sue Turner civilly.
Turner has reserved his right to appeal his criminal sentence, but Clark adds, a civil suit could still get under way.What others are clicking on:
