Stephen Lam
Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer whose six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman sparked outrage across the country, became a free man on Friday after serving out half of his sentence. Twenty-one-year-old Turner left the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose just before dawn Friday, rushing past a crowd of reporters and demonstrators protesting his short jail term. He served a mere three months for assault with intent to commit rape, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person. While prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence, Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in the county jail, a move that sparked calls for his resignation and ultimately led to him switching to civil cases. Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said upon Turner's release that he should still be stuck behind bars. "We don't know who picked him up or where he's going, but we're done with him," Smith told reporters outside the jail. "He should be in prison right now, but he's not in our custody."