(Photo by @mldauber via Twitter. )
On Wednesday, Stanford Law professor Michele Dauber received an envelope containing an unknown white powder and a note with a rape threat.
Dauber is leading a campaign to recall Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky from Santa Clara County. The campaign holds that Persky’s sentence for Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious, intoxicated woman in 2015, was too lenient and showed bias.
Yesterday we made history in Santa Clara County, California by delivering nearly 100K signatures to recall Judge Persky, the #BrockTurner judge. But Persky received corporate donations of $230K to support his frivolous lawsuits. We need your help to win. https://t.co/8NjObiDHFe pic.twitter.com/i2SD5FXBTE
— Michele Dauber (@mldauber) January 12, 2018
The note to Dauber stated: “Since you are going to disrobe Persky, I am going to treat you like ‘Emily Doe.’ Let’s see what kind of sentencing I get for being a rich white male.”
Stanford alum Tessa Ormenyi, 26, told Youth Radio on Wednesday that she was actually the one who opened the letter. Ormenyi was visiting campus to speak on the topic of campus sexual assault in Dauber’s class. She said Dauber handed her the envelope, saying it was probably hate mail, and that when Ormenyi opened the package, a fine white powder spilled out.
“I was rattled. It was very scary,” Ormenyi said. She washed her hands and went on to give her presentation.
Ormenyi was speaking on the Stand With Leah campaign, a student-led push to strengthen the sexual assault policy at Stanford. Leah Francis, a former student, was sexually assaulted in 2014. After the university found her assailant responsible, they decided on appeal not to suspend nor expel him, but to withhold his diploma for two years. Francis brought a federal Office of Civil Rights investigation into Stanford University’s handling of the case.
Since beginning the Recall Persky Campaign, Dauber has run into a slew of hate. “I get death threats, rape threats, threats to get me fired… This is the first one that has a white powder,” she said.
Judge Persky gave Brock Turner a six-month sentence, when he’d faced a possible sentence of 14 years in a state prison. Turner was ultimately released after serving three months and has appealed his conviction.
“I am absolutely not discouraged. We are going to go forward,” Dauber said.