Counselor regrets backing ex-swimmer

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

With outcry growing against those who stood by a former Stanford University swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, a childhood friend and a high-school guidance counselor have apologized for writing letters of support urging leniency for Brock Turner.

The case against the one-time Olympic hopeful has gripped the country, with letters to a judge from Turner’s family and friends drawing outrage from critics who say they are shifting blame from a 20-year-old man who won’t take responsibility for his actions.

Taking into account more than 36 letters from character witnesses and a recommendation from the county probation department, Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in jail and three years’ probation for attacking the intoxicated 23-year-old woman in January 2015.

Defendants can solicit letters of support from family, friends and others for judges to consider before sentencing. One of them came from Kelly Owens, a guidance counselor at Oakwood High School in Dayton, Ohio, where Turner attended.

She had told the court that her former student was “absolutely undeserving of the outcome” of a jury trial that resulted in his conviction of three felony counts of sexual assault.

She regrets writing a letter to the judge and acknowledged it was a mistake, her school district said Wednesday.