"I do not know your name — but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed," Biden wrote. "It must have been wrenching — to relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking." 
 
 Biden, who wrote the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and is involved in the White House's "It's On Us" campaign against campus sexual assault, sent the letter to BuzzFeed News on Thursday. In it, he said he is "filled with furious anger — both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth." He said the woman's actions "will save lives." 
 
 Her letter has since been read by millions of people and has drawn attention to the judge's six-month sentence for Brock Turner — the champion swimmer who was convicted of three counts of sexual assault — even though he faced up to 14 years in prison. 
 
 Vice President Joe Biden penned an open letter to the Stanford sexual assault survivor who read a powerful message to her assailant in court detailing the effects of his actions on her. 
 
 An Open Letter to a Courageous Young Woman 
 
 I do not know your name — but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages. 
 
 Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write. 
 
 I am in awe of your courage for speaking out — for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity. 
 
 And I am filled with furious anger — both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth. 
 
 It must have been wrenching — to relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking. 
 
 You are a warrior — with a solid steel spine. 
 
 I do not know your name — but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed. 
 
 Anyone at that party who saw that you were incapacitated yet looked the other way and did not offer assistance. Anyone who dismissed what happened to you as "just another crazy night." Anyone who asked “what did you expect would happen when you drank that much?” or thought you must have brought it on yourself. 
 
 You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaulted — year after year after year. A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to simply turn a blind eye. 
 
 The statistics on college sexual assault haven’t gone down in the past two decades. It’s obscene, and it’s a failure that lies at all our feet. 
 
 And you were failed by anyone who dared to question this one clear and simple truth: Sex without consent is rape. Period. It is a crime. 
 
 I do not know your name — but thanks to you, I know that heroes ride bicycles. 
 
 Those two men who saw what was happening to you — who took it upon themselves to step in — they did what they instinctually knew to be right. 
 
 They did not say "It's none of my business." 
 
 They did not worry about the social or safety implications of intervening, or about what their peers might think. 
 
 Those two men epitomize what it means to be a responsible bystander. 
 
 To do otherwise — to see an assault about to take place and do nothing to intervene — makes you part of the problem. 
 
 Like I tell college students all over this country — it’s on us. All of us. 
 
 We all have a responsibility to stop the scourge of violence against women once and for all. 
 
 I do not know your name — but I see your unconquerable spirit. 
 
 I see the limitless potential of an incredibly talented young woman — full of possibility. I see the shoulders on which our dreams for the future rest. 
 
 I see you. 
 
 You will never be defined by what the defendant’s father callously termed “20 minutes of action.” 
 
 His son will be. 
 
 I join your global chorus of supporters, because we can never say enough to survivors: I believe you. It is not your fault. 
 
 What you endured is never, never, never, NEVER a woman's fault. 
 
 And while the justice system has spoken in your particular case, the nation is not satisfied. 
 
 And that is why we will continue to speak out. 
 
 We will speak to change the culture on our college campuses — a culture that continues to ask the wrong questions: What were you wearing? 
 
 Why were you there? What did you say? How much did you drink? 
 
 Instead of asking: Why did he think he had license to rape? 
 
 We will speak out against those who seek to engage in plausible deniability. Those who know that this is happening, but don't want to get involved. Who believe that this ugly crime is "complicated." 
 
 We will speak of you — you who remain anonymous not only to protect your identity, but because you so eloquently represent “every woman.” 
 
 We will make lighthouses of ourselves, as you did — and shine. 
 
 Your story has already changed lives. 
 
 You have helped change the culture. 
 
 You have shaken untold thousands out of the torpor and indifference towards sexual violence that allows this problem to continue. 
 
 Your words will help people you have never met and never will. 
 
 You have given them the strength they need to fight. 
 
 And so, I believe, you will save lives. 
 
 I do not know your name — but I will never forget you. 
 
 The millions who have been touched by your story will never forget you. 
 
 And if everyone who shared your letter on social media, or who had a private conversation in their own homes with their daughters and sons, draws upon the passion, the outrage, and the commitment they feel right now the next time there is a choice between intervening and walking away — then I believe you will have helped to change the world for the better. ||||| 
 
 WASHINGTON — Rep. Ted Poe called today for the removal of a California judge who sentenced a former Stanford athlete convicted of sexual assault to six months in prison. 
 
 Poe, a former prosecutor and criminal court judge, took to the House floor and blasted Judge Aaron Persky’s sentence as “pathetic,” saying: “The punishment for rape should be longer than a semester of college.” 
 
 Poe, R-Humble, said that Brock Turner — a 20-year-old champion swimmer convicted of assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster in 2015 — should face tougher penalties. 
 
 Brock was convicted last week of three counts of sexual assault and, in addition to six months in prison and three years’ probation, will have to register as a sex offender. 
 
 Turner was not convicted of rape because, under California law, rape is defined as someone using “physical force, intimidation, duress, or threats to persuade the victim to engage in intercourse.” 
 
 Witnesses and testimony determined that Turner penetrated his victim with a foreign object, not a sexual organ. 
 
 The case has ignited a fierce debate about victims’ rights and how the court system treats upper-middle-class white men. 
 
 “This judge got it wrong. There is an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain’t sin as long as good folk do it,” said Poe. “The judge should be removed. The rapist should do more time for the dastardly deed he did that night.” 
 
 Poe has no authority to remove Persky from the bench but urged an appeals court to overturn Turner’s sentence and for California voters to petition for his ouster. 
 
 Turner will be serving an even shorter sentence than what Persky gave him, Mic reports. The Santa Clara County’s Department of Corrections website lists Turner’s release as Sept. 2 — three months after his booking date, June 2. 
 
 In addition to being outraged by the judge’s sentence, many have expressed frustration over comments from Turner’s father, who called prison “a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.” 
 
 “The judge said: ‘A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.’ Isn’t that the point?” Poe said. 
 
 At Turner’s sentencing, his unnamed victim read him a letter. 
 
 Poe on Thursday read portions of the victim’s 7,000-plus word letter, which explained in graphic detail the impact of the assault on her life. The assault was reportedly halted by two students passing by on bicycles while the woman was still unconscious. 
 
 A rape victim’s message to a former Stanford swimmer | @DMNOpinion https://t.co/ElLVkVhB84 pic.twitter.com/5kkovNakiu — Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) June 8, 2016 
 
 In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Poe called the woman’s missive “the Bible on what happens to sexual assault victims.” 
 
 “For many victims, rape is a fate worse than death,” Poe said. “Because rape victims say after being raped, they die emotionally many times. And with homicide, one dies only once.” 
 
 Vice President Joe Biden issued his own open letter to the victim Thursday afternoon which began: 
 
 “I do not know your name — but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages. Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.” 
 
 Poe, co-chairman of the Congressional Victims Rights Caucus, said he felt compelled to speak out after becoming incensed at the lenient sentence. 
 
 “The judge excused [Turner's] conduct, even saying he was concerned about the defendant’s future,” Poe said. “That’s nothing. Auto thieves in Texas get more for stealing cars.” 
 
 The congressman ended his speech Thursday morning by with a personal note as he asked for the victim’s entire letter into the official Congressional record. 
 
 “As a grandfather, I want to know that my granddaughters are growing up in a society that has zero tolerance for this criminal conduct,” he continued. “No means no.” 
 
 Staff writer Hannah Wise contributed to this report. ||||| Tom Williams/Getty Images Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) will host an hour-long reading of a widely circulated statement from the victim of a 2015 sexual assault by former Stanford University student Brock Turner. 
 
 The widely discussed letter from the woman who was sexually assaulted by former Stanford University student Brock Turner will be read in its entirety on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives next week. 
 
 U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) will host a one-hour special order on the evening of June 15. Members of Congress, both men and women, will read the Stanford survivor’s statement in full over the course of an hour. Members from both parties are expected to participate. 
 
 Speier and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) both read excerpts from the victim's statement on the House floor Thursday morning. The readings officially put the words of a sexual assault victim into the congressional record, making it a documented part of American history. 
 
 "Her bravery inspires me, as I hope it inspires you," Speier said on the floor Thursday. 
 
 Reading the statement into the Congressional record, Speier told The Huffington Post in an interview Thursday, is "a symbolic act that underscores the gravity of the offense." 
 
 Today I read part of the Stanford rape survivor's statement on the House floor: https://t.co/vpL1lLBN13 #BrockTurnerisaRapist — Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) June 9, 2016 
 
 The victim's statement, Speier continued, "so dramatically and powerfully reflects the damage, the scarring that conduct has done on the woman. It's a very extraordinarily powerful statement. I hope that by reading it into the record, by elevating this issue, that we're going to take some steps to provide leadership on the federal level to address sexual assault on campus and in the military." 
 
 Turner was found guilty in March of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on Stanford's campus in 2015. A judge denied prosecutors' request for a six-year prison sentence last week, instead sentencing Turner to six months in county jail, though he's scheduled to be released even sooner than that, on Sept. 2. 
 
 She wrote the Bible on what happens to sexual assault victims. U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), referring to Brock Turner's victim's statement 
 
 Poe, a former felony prosecutor and judge in Texas, condemned the six-month jail sentence for Turner. 
 
 "Car thieves get more than six months in jail, and this is a crime against a person," Poe told HuffPost on Thursday. "The judge was wrong on this." 
 
 For the victim, he continued, "it's a life sentence of turmoil, guilt, hopelessness, being alone, and I know that because victims have told me that over the years." 
 
 The author of the letter "wrote the Bible on what happens to sexual assault victims," Poe said. 
 
 Poe said he'd like to meet the victim, but respects that she wants to stay anonymous. "She's quite a remarkable person," he said. 
 
 The victim has said she intends to stay anonymous to make "a statement that all of these people are fighting for someone that they don’t know." 
 
 "People must understand rape is one of the most violent crimes a person can commit," Speier said on the floor. "Not, as Mr. Turner's father said, '20 minutes of action.'" 
 
 _______ ||||| Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky is shown in this this June 27, 2011 file photo. (Jason Doiy/The Recorder via Associated Press) 
 
 PALO ALTO -- At least 10 prospective jurors who oppose Judge Aaron Persky's decision to spare former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner prison for a sex crime refused this week to serve on a jury in an unrelated case he is handling. 
 
 "I can't be here, I'm so upset," one juror told the judge while the lawyers were picking the jury in the misdemeanor receiving stolen property case, according to multiple sources. 
 
 Another prospective juror stood up and said, "I can't believe what you did," referring to the six-month county jail sentence Persky handed to Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious intoxicated woman last year outside a Stanford University fraternity party. 
 
 Brock Turner as he appeared on the night of his arrest on Jan. 18, 2015. (Stanford Department of Public Safety) 
 
 In each case, the judge said, "I understand," thanked the prospective juror and excused her or him from duty. 
 
 Turner faced at least two years in state prison until the judge followed a probation report recommendation and found grounds to sentence him to county jail and three years probation instead. Persky cited 20-year-old Turner's youth and his lack of a criminal record as "unusual circumstances" warranting leniency. 
 
 The sentence has sparked worldwide outrage, fueled by social media and the victim's impassioned, 12-page statement. A Stanford law professor and friend of the victim's family, Michele Dauber, has mounted a campaign to recall Persky. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Persky's supporters said Thursday that some of the jurors' protest statements may well have been genuine. But others may have been prompted by a desire to get out of jury duty. 
 
 However, the tactic could prove more problematic if it spreads because it could prolong the jury selection process, as it did in this trial. 
 
 Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport. ||||| Judge in Stanford sexual assault case previously allowed athletes accused of gang-raping a student to show a civil case jury provocative photos of her 
 
 The judge in the Stanford sexual assault case allowed defendants accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old high school student to show the jury photographs of her wearing a revealing outfit when he presided over another controversial case involving college athletes. 
 
 Judge Aaron Persky, who is under fire for his lenient sentencing of Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexual assault, made several controversial rulings in a 2011 civil trial stemming from the alleged gang rape by members of the baseball team at De Anza Community College in Cupertino, California. 
 
 Brock Turner's statement blames sexual assault on Stanford ‘party culture’ Read more 
 
 Among those rulings was the decision to allow the defense to display photographs that showed the alleged victim “nestling a shot glass full of liquor in her exposed cleavage,” as one local reporter described it. Another photo showed the victim making a sexually provocative gesture. 
 
 The judge allowed the images to be shown to the jury in the civil case after the defense argued that they would help prove that the young woman was not, as she claimed, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. 
 
 “Did you have PTSD when you did the acts shown in these pictures?” one defense attorney asked the woman in court, according to the San Jose Mercury News. 
 
 Barbara Spector, one of the attorneys for the alleged victim, who was known as Jane Doe, said that she felt at the time the images “were irrelevant”. 
 
 
 
 “The impact was very definitely prejudicial for Jane Doe and had a positive impact for the defendants on the jury,” she said. 
 
 
 
 Four of the defendants settled, three had charges dismissed and two went through the trial and were found not liable by the jury. 
 
 Persky is now facing international scrutiny, after the victim in the Stanford case released a viral statement on the trauma of her assault, prompting messages of support from vice-president Joe Biden and actor Lena Dunham. 
 
 Critics have also launched a recall campaign against Persky over his decision to sentence Turner to six months in county jail – a punishment that is much more lenient than the two years in prison prescribed by law. 
 
 Persky, who has reportedly faced death threats in the wake of the backlash has, however, received support from an unlikely source: the public defenders who represent indigent defendants in his Santa Clara county. 
 
 Several have told the Guardian the judge has a reputation for being fair to their clients and his apparent leniency in the Stanford swimmer case was in-keeping with his general approach to criminal cases. 
 
 However his role in the De Anza civil trial is likely to raise further questions about his handling of sexual assault cases. 
 
 On the night of 4 March 2007, three members of the De Anza women’s soccer team barged into the bedroom of an off-campus house during a birthday party. They claimed that they found a 17-year-old girl unconscious and being sexually assaulted by a group of men. 
 
 The witnesses testified that they tried to get inside the room, but men initially prevented them from entering. Inside, they said they saw a man thrusting on top of the woman. 
 
 The female soccer players were later hailed as heroes by the San Jose city council. 
 
 Stanford sexual assault case: victim impact statement in full Read more 
 
 Eight members of the baseball team were quickly suspended by the community college’s athletics department, but no arrests were made, even after a second woman came forward to say that she too had been sexually assaulted by De Anza college baseball players. 
 
 Two and a half months later, the Santa Clara County district attorney announced that she would not file criminal charges in the case, despite the fact that the sheriff, whose department investigated the case, stated publicly that she believed “a crime occurred”. 
 
 “The bottom line is it’s not about what we believe happened or think happened. It’s about what we can prove happened,” the district attorney, Dolores Carr, told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time, in the face of intense criticism of her decision not to prosecute. 
 
 The outcry against Carr in 2007 has been echoed by the torrent of anger directed at Persky since his sentencing of Turner. 
 
 “It sent a message to victims that they can’t find justice in Santa Clara County,” Irene Weiser, an advocate for victims of assault, told the Chronicle at the time of the De Anza case. “It also sent a message to perpetrators and would-be perpetrators. It gave them a green light.” 
 
 One year after the alleged 2007 assault took place, the young woman sought another avenue to have her day in court: a civil lawsuit seeking damages from her alleged attackers. 
 
 Looking at the most recent case, it seems that [Persky’s] ruling was rooted in something different Monica Burneikis, attorney 
 
 The case finally went in front of Persky and a jury in March 2011, following three years of legal wrangling overseen by a different judge. As a civil case, the plaintiff and her attorneys were tasked not with proving guilt, but with proving liability and culpability. 
 
 The photographs of Jane Doe at a party less than a year after the alleged assault were allowed by Judge Persky after defense attorneys argued that they contradicted the plaintiff’s claims about how the alleged gang rape had harmed her emotionally and psychologically. 
 
 At the time of the De Anza case, the plaintiff’s other lawyer, Monica Burneikis, speculated that at least one of Persky’s controversial rulings may have been because he was inexperienced in civil cases, but the Stanford case has changed her mind. 
 
 “Looking at the most recent case, it seems that [Persky’s] ruling was rooted in something different,” Burneikis said. 
 
 ‘Nail in a coffin’ 
 
 Jane Doe’s lawyers said the photographs were not the only evidence that Persky unfairly permitted. 
 
 Another controversy related to Persky’s handling of the case stemmed from his decision over testimony from the alleged attackers. 
 
 Four of the baseball players invoked fifth amendment rights not to self-incriminate during the discovery phase of the litigation. 
 
 According to Burneikis, that was a critical juncture: preventing the young woman’s team from obtaining evidence that could have helped them pursue their case. 
 
 The original judge in the case ruled in 2010 that the defendants could stay silent, but that would also mean that they would be prohibited from testifying in a later part of the case. 
 
 
 
 That ruling was, however, overturned by Persky, a move that Jane Doe’s attorneys now say undermined her case. 
 
 Persky, taking over the trail in 2011, allowed one of the defendants, Christopher Knopf, to enter evidence that the woman’s lawyers believed should have been covered by the earlier judge’s order. 
 
 “It was shocking to see judge Persky disregard that order,” Burneikis said. “One judge completely disregarding an order that another judge has entered: yes, that was unusual.” 
 
 “It was devastating,” she continued. “I can remember how I felt the moment the ruling came down and it was like a nail in a coffin. I could not comprehend it.” 
 
 Persky did not respond to requests for comment. Alison Crane, attorney for the defendants, who asked the woman about the questionable photos, also did not respond to requests for comment. 
 
 Persky’s defenders 
 
 Persky was only in the position to influence the outcome of the De Anza case because it was brought in civil, rather than criminal, court, after prosecutors did not bring charges. Such an outcome is indicative of a criminal justice system which, advocates for survivors of sexual assault say, fails to hold perpetrators accountable. Research has repeatedly shown that only a small fraction of rape cases lead to prosecution. 
 
 The Stanford rape case: a white privilege cake with vanilla frosting on top Read more 
 
 Persky’s critics have argued that his actions in the De Anza case and the Stanford assault reflect a lack of empathy for victims, noting that the judge himself was a former Stanford athlete. 
 
 But defenders of the judge have come forward in recent days and argued that it’s critical for judges to have discretion and that he should be applauded for avoiding overly harsh sentences. 
 
 “Persky has a reputation for being a thoughtful jurist and he has been fair and decent to our clients, many of whom come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Jennifer Redding, a public defender in Santa Clara. 
 
 “Based on my experience and knowledge of judge Persky’s reputation I do not believe that he granted [Turner] probation because the defendant reportedly came from a privileged background,” said Andy Gutierrez, deputy public defender for Santa Clara county. 
 
 Gutierrez noted that it can be especially challenging for judges to issue appropriate sentences when the crimes are violent or horrendous. But sometimes, he said, it’s the right thing to do. 
 
 “In notorious cases, whether it involves a sexual assault, a child molestation, or even a gang crime, there is often public clamor for a heavy sentence. A judge must resist the temptation to be swallowed by such public sentiment. That is one of the toughest things for a judge to do.” 
 
 This article was amended on 9 June 2016. Two quotes attributed to Barbara Spector were actually made by the plaintiff’s other lawyer, Monica Burneikis. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ||||| PALO ALTO (CBS SF) — Potential jurors in Santa Clara County are apparently refusing to serve in the courtroom of the judge who handed down a six-month sentence to a former Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault. 
 
 KPIX 5 reporter Len Ramirez confirmed Thursday that 20 jurors refused to serve in Judge Aaron Persky’s courtroom on Wednesday, citing the judge as a hardship. 
 
 Confirmed: potential jurors refusing to serve under #StanfordRape judge. Citing #JudgePersky as hardship. 20 let go yesterday. @CBSSF — Len Ramirez (@lenramirez) June 9, 2016 
 
 The prospective jurors were there for an unrelated misdemeanor case involving a woman accused of receiving stolen goods. 
 
 Persky has faced intense scrutiny for sentencing Brock Turner to six months for sexually assaulting a woman outside a fraternity house. An attorney for the public defender’s office said Persky and his family have been receiving threatening phone calls. A recall effort has also been launched against the judge. 
 
 ALSO READ: 
 
 The case gained worldwide attention after the victim’s emotional court statement addressing her attacker was posted online. 
 
 Outrage over the case was also stoked by statements issued in Turner’s defense by his father and one of his childhood friends. 
 
 KPIX 5 was in Persky’s courtroom on Thursday when the judge asked 17 potential jurors if they could be impartial in the case, and they all said yes. A short time later, Persky empaneled 12 of them, plus two alternates. 
 
 Dr. Kulsoom Khan was excused for unknown reasons. She had no idea about the Turner case at all, and said it wasn’t brought up in her jury pool. Had she known about the controversy surrounding the judge, things would have gone much differently. 
 
 Khan told KPIX 5 that she would have brought it up. “I didn’t know anything about it, but if I knew I probably would be biased,” she said. 
 
 KPIX 5 Legal Analyst LaDoris Cordell said the turn of events was unprecedented to her knowledge. 
 
 “I have never heard of potential jurors, people in the jury pool, boycotting a judge,” said Cordell. 
 
 Cordell, who presided over criminal cases for 20 years as a Santa Clara County judge, said the turn of events could impact the juror pool. 
 
 “The significance is that if this were to continue, word gets out that, Hey, if you don’t want to serve or don’t like a judge, just refuse to go in the courtroom, it could catch on and that would be bad, said Cordell. We rely on our jurors in order to make the system work.” 
 
 Friday in San Francisco, activists will deliver about one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance demanding that Persky leave the bench. 
 
 However, the judge is not without his supporters. A powerful voice in Santa Clara County is coming to his defense. 
 
 “I think the sentence is fair,” said Santa Clara County Public Defender Molly O’Neal 
 
 O’Neal may be one of very few people to believe that the sentence was the right call. 
 
 “This was a rough decision for Judge Persky to make. But Mr. Turner is, in fact, going to go to jail, said O’Neal. He’s a convicted felon. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.” 
 
 But even one of Persky’s most outspoken critics, prosecutor Alaleh Kianerci, believes that is taking things too far. 
 
 “He was absolutely neutral during the trial,” said Kianerci. “We just don’t agree with his sentence. But I don’t thing being a Stanford grad or a former athlete has anything to do with it.” 
 
 While enormous attention has been focused on how much time turner will spend behind bars — likely three months of a six-month sentence — O’Neal said the judge almost certainly considered the implications of having to register as a sex offender. 
 
 “I think Judge Persky heard all the testimony — weighed all of the considerations he’s required to by law — and arrived at a sentence through a fair process,” said O’Neal.
– The judge in the Stanford rape case isn't just facing a petition to get him off the bench—he's become so unpopular that potential jurors are bailing. KPIX reports that on Wednesday, some 20 potential jurors refused to serve on a jury in an unrelated stolen-goods case under Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky. "I can't believe what you did," one woman told Persky, referring to his lenient sentence for Stanford sex attacker Brock Turner, the San Jose Mercury News reports. In other developments: Lawyer Barbara Spector tells the New York Daily News that in a 2011 civil trial over the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl, she felt Persky sided with the group of baseball players accused of raping the girl. Spector says Persky allowed lawyers for the defendants to show Facebook photos of the girl wearing revealing clothing months after the incident because they argued the photos showed she did not have PTSD. Persky has his defenders, who say he is fair-minded and not a man known for issuing harsh sentences—or bowing to public pressure. He has "a reputation for being a thoughtful jurist and he has been fair and decent to our clients, many of whom come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds," a public defender in Santa Clara tells the Guardian. In an open letter to Turner's victim published on BuzzFeed, Joe Biden praises her "breathtaking" bravery and "solid steel spine." "Your story has already changed lives," he writes. "You have helped change the culture. You have shaken untold thousands out of the torpor and indifference towards sexual violence that allows this problem to continue." Rep. Ted Poe, a former prosecutor and judge from Texas, read portions of the victim's searing court statement in the House yesterday and called for voters to recall Persky, the Dallas Morning News reports. "This judge got it wrong. There is an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain't sin as long as good folk do it," said Poe, a Republican. "The judge should be removed. The rapist should do more time for the dastardly deed he did that night." The Huffington Post reports that on the evening of June 15, lawmakers from both parties will spend an hour reading the Stanford victim's statement in full in the House. (Turner may be freed after serving just half of his six-month sentence.)