The survivor of a rape that sparked widespread outrage in 2016 due to the leniency of the punishment for the rapist, Brock Turner, has revealed her identity as she prepares for the publication of her new memoir, “Know My Name,” later this month. Chanel Miller’s name was unknown until this week, but her words were heard by millions thanks to her powerful victim impact statement. This is a part of that statement, as read by Miller on “60 Minutes.”
Chanel Miller: “You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me. In newspapers, my name was 'unconscious, intoxicated woman.' Ten syllables and nothing more than that. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity, to relearn that this is not all that I am, that I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the all-American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty.”
Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Brock Turner, a white man, to a 6-month prison term for sexually assaulting Miller while she was unconscious behind a dumpster. Turner only served three of those months. Judge Persky was recalled by voters in 2018.