"Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," Brock Turner wrote to the judge ahead of his sentencing for raping an unconscious woman. He received a sentence widely criticized as lenient despite the fact that his claims about inexperience with alcohol were shown to be lies, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Prosecutors pointed out to the judge that the former Stanford student's seized cellphone contained plenty of evidence that he was using alcohol and drugs regularly while still in high school. Numerous messages referred to drinking and using LSD and marijuana. Video from the phone included a clip described as "depicting the Defendant smoking from a bong and drinking out of a bottle of liquor immediately after taking a 'bong hit.'" Judge Aaron Persky—who banned Turner from drinking alcohol or visiting bars during the three years he'll be on probation—did not comment on the dishonesty. In other developments:
- Gizmodo reports that this meme about Turner being a rapist was removed from Facebook, outraging users. Facebook says it was removed in error and it's sorry about the mistake.