Brock Turner's dad started legal defense fund
OAKWOOD, Ohio -- The father of ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexual assault of an unconscious woman, established a legal support fund with an Ohio local credit union to support his son's defense, CBS affiliate WHIO in Dayton reported.
Brock Turner is serving a six-month jail sentence for three counts of sexual assault, but can be released in as soon as three months. He faced a maximum of 14 years in jail.
In early May, a woman who described herself as "a lifelong friend, mother and person who has watched this family grow" started a Facebook page titled "Turner Family Support Fund" on behalf of Brock Turner's parents, Dan and Carleen, according to WHIO.
The page has been taken down. While it was live, it gave the 40 or so members who liked the page directions on how to donate to a Wright-Patt Credit Union account to "help ease the financial burden that this situation has caused."
"(Turner's parents) are dealing with a monumental life-changing and tragic situation with Brock, and their expenses continue to mount. As a mother and friend, I would do anything to help my child and save him," the supporter wrote on the page. "I know that while we are not experiencing what they are feeling, my heart and faith continue to want to help and be supportive."
A customer service representative for Wright-Patt Credit Union confirmed to WHIO that Dan Turner, Brock's father, created the account for the family. The credit union said the account is still active.
The supporter behind the Facebook page did not immediately return a request for comment from WHIO.
Brock's father has been the subject of his own intense criticism.
In a letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky that's drawn outrage on social media, Dan Turner wrote of his son: "His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."
In the widely-circulated letter to Persky, Dan Turner said even some jail time was too much for the 20-year-old former collegiate swimmer.
Dan Turner said in the letter that it is "inappropriate" to incarcerate someone who has "no prior criminal history and has never been violent with anyone including on the night of January 17."
The father also notes the Brock Turner has lost his appetite. The father wrote he used to be "excited to buy (Brock Turner) a big ribeye steak .... Now he barely consumes any food and eats only to exist."
In a letter that has since gone viral, the victim in the case calls on Brock Turner to take responsibility for his actions, saying, "assault is not an accident."