Stanford Rapist Lied About Alcohol Use

"Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," Brock Turner wrote to the judge ahead of his sentencing for raping an unconscious woman. He received a sentence widely criticized as lenient despite the fact that his claims about inexperience with alcohol were shown to be lies, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Prosecutors pointed out to the judge that the former Stanford student's seized cellphone contained plenty of evidence that he was using alcohol and drugs regularly while still in high school. Numerous messages referred to drinking and using LSD and marijuana. Video from the phone included a clip described as "depicting the Defendant smoking from a bong and drinking out of a bottle of liquor immediately after taking a 'bong hit.'" Judge Aaron Persky—who banned Turner from drinking alcohol or visiting bars during the three years he'll be on probation—did not comment on the dishonesty. In other developments:

• Gizmodo reports that this meme about Turner being a rapist was removed from Facebook, outraging users. Facebook says it was removed in error and it's sorry about the mistake.

• One of two Swedish students who interrupted the attack and apprehended Turner spoke to NBC's Today show Monday, describing how they were cycling across campus and noticed something was amiss when they saw Turner on top of the woman next to a dumpster. Carl-Fredrik Arndt says Turner started to run away after the two Swedes discovered the woman was unconscious. What Turner was doing to her "was really horrible," he says.
• The New York Times looks at the record of Persky, a Stanford alumnus who has been receiving threats since the case came to national attention.
• USA Today reports that despite the controversy, Persky won another six-year term as a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge on Tuesday. There were no challengers, so his name didn't appear on Tuesday's ballots. A Stanford law professor, however, has started a recall website and vows that his "victory will be short-lived."
• Jezebel reports on a depressing statistic: Even if Turner only serves half of his six-month jail sentence, he will have been more harshly punished than 97% of rapists.

(More Brock Turner stories.)