Stanford freshman charged with raping unconscious woman

A freshman member of the Stanford University swim team was charged with raping a woman last week while she was unconscious from alcohol or drugs near campus fraternity houses, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Brock Allen Turner, 19, an Ohio native, faces five felony counts punishable by up to 10 years in prison following his arrest on Jan. 18 at the prestigious private university south of San Francisco, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Two students on bicycles witnessed the alleged assault and tackled Turner after a chase, while a third student assisted the woman and called campus police, the district attorney’s office said.

The woman, whom Turner allegedly met earlier at a party, was transported to the hospital, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Authorities have declined to say how they believe the woman fell unconscious or whether she passed out from alcohol, drugs or both, but the charges Turner faces do not include an allegation that she was deliberately sedated.

Turner was booked and then released on $150,000 bail. He was formally charged with five felony counts, including rape, rape of an intoxicated person, rape of an unconscious person and assault. An arraignment was set for Feb. 2.

Turner has since voluntarily withdrawn his registration at Stanford, is no longer officially a student, is not practicing with the swim team and is not permitted on campus, university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said.

“This is something that the university takes very seriously. It is also something we try very hard to prevent,” she said, pointing to sexual assault education classes that all freshmen are required to attend. “This is also a situation where we had some courageous students who intervened. They demonstrated exactly the kind of leadership we’ve been talking about.”

The alleged victim was not a student, she said. Turner was not a member of any fraternities, Lapin added.

Turner’s lawyer, Michael Armstrong, declined to comment.