Former Stanford student and varsity men’s swimmer Brock Turner pled not guilty on Monday to five felony charges related to his alleged rape of a woman on campus. Turner entered his plea at his arraignment in Santa Clara Superior Court in Palo Alto. Turner allegedly raped the woman, who was not a Stanford student, on Jan. 18.
Turner waived his right to a hearing within 10 or 60 days of his arraignment, and Mike Armstrong, Turner’s attorney, asked the court to permit Turner to not be personally present for some parts of the trial. Armstrong said that Turner had flown in from Ohio to appear at the proceedings. Deputy district attorney Alaleh Kianerci, who represented the prosecution, objected, and Judge Aaron Persky denied the defense’s request.
The court issued an order to Turner, which included mandates that he stay at least 100 yards from the alleged victim, surrender any firearms he may possess and not attempt to intimidate witnesses.
The arraignment had a considerable media presence but there were no Stanford students present, except those representing on-campus media outlets.
Turner appeared solemn during the proceedings, and did not speak to reporters as he exited the courthouse.
In a press conference following the arraignment, Kianerci thanked the graduate students who intervened in the alleged rape. “If they’re listening, thank you. Thank you for doing the right thing.”
Kianerci also urged the community to be vigilant. “[D]on’t stand by… if you see something say something.”
Turner is set to make his next court appearance on Mar. 30.
Contact Caleb Smith at caleb17 ‘at’ stanford.edu.