Stanford University swimmer arrested, charged with rape of unconscious woman

© KSBW

Brock Allen Turner

A former Stanford University swimmer has been charged with raping an intoxicated, unconscious woman in an on-campus attack that prosecutors say was witnessed by two cyclists who nabbed him in the middle of the night as he tried to run away.

Brock Allen Turner, 19, who voluntarily withdrew from the school Tuesday, faces five felony counts that could put him behind bars for 10 years. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on Jan. 18, shortly after the attack, on suspicion of attempted rape and penetration with a foreign object, both felonies. He has been released on $150,000 bail.

Turner is charged with one count of rape of an intoxicated person, one count of rape of an unconscious person, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of an intoxicated woman, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of an unconscious woman and one count of assault with intent to commit rape, prosecutor Alaleh Kianerci said Tuesday.

He is to be arraigned Monday in Palo Alto. Turner could not be reached Tuesday and his attorney, Mike Armstrong of Palo Alto, declined to comment.

Turner is not permitted to return to campus, the school announced Tuesday evening.

The , following up a story by a campus newsletter, The , reported Tuesday that an unnamed freshman varsity athlete who had been accused of attempted rape was no longer practicing with the team and that he was not living on campus. A university spokeswoman said Tuesday the victim was not a student.

Kianerci declined to reveal details about the victim, describing her only as "a woman attending an on-campus party."

Turner's arrest comes as campus sexual assaults have attained unprecedented levels of national attention, with activists demanding their colleges do more to prevent assaults and punish offenders. Last spring, Stanford students protested the school's handling of a case in which the accused student -- whom police never charged, but who was found by a Stanford review panel to be responsible for sexual assault -- was permitted to complete his senior year.

"Rape is a very serious crime and we absolutely take this seriously," Kianerci said of the charges against Turner.

The attack happened after midnight on a Sunday morning outside a party where Turner met the woman, Kianerci said. Two men riding bikes on campus saw an unconscious woman on the ground with a man on top of her. The man ran away, but they chased him down and held him until police arrived, the prosecutor said.

Kianerci praised the men as good Samaritans, who leapt into action because what they saw "shocked their conscience."

Turner, a freshman from Dayton, Ohio, was a three-time All-American high school swimmer and state record-holder in two freestyle events, according to his Stanford team bio. He is 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 165 pounds, according to the bio.

When first asked about the arrest Tuesday afternoon, Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said the university would have no comment. But by Tuesday evening, after prosecutors announced they were charging Turner, she said he had voluntarily left the school and would not be permitted to return.

"The university has launched its own investigation, in addition to and separate from the law enforcement investigation," Lapin said.

The men's swim coach and Stanford's athletic department did not return calls.

Stanford students accused of sexual assault go through a special campus hearing process that can lead to their suspension or expulsion. Those who are charged by prosecutors may be removed from campus while their cases are pending.

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