(CNN)A prosecutor argued he should spend six years in prison. A judge ruled he should be jailed for six months.
And after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and spending three months behind bars, it took Brock Turner less than 30 seconds to walk out of a California jail Friday.
The former Stanford University swimmer bowed his head as he rushed past a crowd of reporters. He didn’t say a word before getting into a white SUV awaiting him.
“We don’t know who picked him up or where he’s going, but we’re done with him,” Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters outside the jail. “He should be in prison right now, but he’s not in our custody.”
The case drew national attention after the victim’s wrenching impact statement went viral. The brevity of Turner’s sentence triggered outrage against the judge and controversy over how the justice system treats sexual assault survivors.
Hours after Turner’s release, protesters chanted and waved signs outside the Santa Clara County jail.
Their focus: Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced Turner in June. Several speakers called for Persky to be removed from office through a recall election.
“There is no justice in the light sentence and early release of Brock Turner,” said U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a former prosecutor who represents the San Francisco Bay area. “Are you ready to give Judge Persky the early release that he deserves?” The crowd shouted, “Yes!”
As demonstrators chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, Judge Persky has got to go,” they held signs saying “protect survivors, not rapists,” “Hold Persky accountable” and “Because our daughters deserve better.”
According to another news outlet, Turner, 21, left a Santa Clara County jail on Friday and will now serve out the rest of his three years probation. He left California for his parents’ home in Ohio where he is required to register as a sex offender.
About a dozen protesters waited outside the Sugarcreek Township home on Friday, and others returned Saturday.
