A Stanford University freshman was charged on Tuesday with raping an intoxicated, unconscious woman on the university grounds.
Brock Allen Turner, a member of the university's swim team, was arrested after allegedly raping an unconscious woman outside a campus street in Palo Alto two weeks ago, New York Daily News reported. He has been charged with five felony counts on suspicion of raping an unconscious person, raping an intoxicated person, sexual penetration with a foreign object and assault while attempting to commit rape.
The 19-year-old, who has been kicked off the swim team and barred from campus since the incident, had reportedly met the victim at a party in the area near some student housing and the Kappa Alpha fraternity house.
"Matters like this the university takes seriously," Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 18, two bicyclists discovered Turner raping an intoxicated woman along Lomita Court and stopped the sexual assault, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Alaleh Kianerci told the San Francisco Chronicle.
As Turner attempted an escape, the two bicyclists charged into action and tackled him down while a third man immediately contacted the authorities. While the Ohio native was taken to jail, the unconscious female, who is not a student, was rushed to the hospital, the prosecutor's office told the Los Angeles Times.
"She was lying on the ground unconscious, not moving," Kianerci told the newspaper. "She's recovering."
The lanky 6-foot-2 swimmer, weighing 165 pounds, was a three-time All-American high school swimmer in Dayton, Ohio, and was recruited to join Stanford's illustrious swim team, currently ranked 10th in the nation, according to the Chronicle.
He swam in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials in London and last raced for Stanford at a Jan. 10 meet, where he finished third in a 1,000-yard freestyle race and second in a 200-yard backstroke swim, campus newspaper The Stanford Daily reported.
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old has been released on $150,000 bail. If convicted of the felony charges, he faces up to 10 years in prison. His attorney, Mike Armstrong of Palo Alto, declined to comment.
Turner is expected to appear in court to enter a plea on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
