
In June 2016, a victim impact statement by a woman known only as ‘Emily Doe’ was shared online.
A judge found that she was a victim of aggravated sexual assault, at the hands of Stanford University Varsity swimmer Brock Allen Turner. He was sentenced to six months in prison.
He wouldn’t even serve that, though. Instead, Turner spent just three months in prison.
After three years of anonymity, Emily Doe has identified herself as Chanel Miller.
These words – her full victim impact statement – belong to her.
Your honour,
If it is all right, for the majority of this statement I would like to address the defendant directly.
You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today.
On January 17th, 2015, it was a quiet Saturday night at home. My dad made some dinner and I sat at the table with my younger sister who was visiting for the weekend. I was working full time and it was approaching my bed time. I planned to stay at home by myself, watch some TV and read, while she went to a party with her friends. Then, I decided it was my only night with her, I had nothing better to do, so why not, there’s a dumb party ten minutes from my house, I would go, dance weird like a fool, and embarrass my younger sister. On the way there, I joked that undergrad guys would have braces. My sister teased me for wearing a beige cardigan to a frat party like a librarian. I called myself “big mama”, because I knew I’d be the oldest one there. I made silly faces, let my guard down, and drank liquor too fast not factoring in that my tolerance had significantly lowered since college.