This Sunday’s first reading tells the story of a man who has abused his privileged position of power to sexually violate a powerless woman. In this case it was King David who violated Bathsheba, one of his subjects and the wife of one of his soldiers. The themes of privilege, powerlessness, and sexual violation are at the forefront of a sexual assault case that has gained wide attention, involving a Stanford University star athlete who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman at a fraternity party.

A recall effort is now underway against Santa Clara County Superior Court judge Aaron Persky, who handed defendant Brock Allen Turner, 20, a Stanford University student and champion swimmer on scholarship, what many critics denounced as a lenient sentence for three felony counts of sexual assault.

Persky, a Stanford alumnus, sentenced Turner to six months in county jail and three years probation, far less than the six years in federal prison recommended by the prosecution for a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in federal prison. The judge argued that Turner had no significant prior offenses, had already been adversely affected by the intense media coverage, and argued “there is less moral culpability attached to the defendant, who [was] intoxicated.”

According to Persky: “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.” The young man’s father added fuel to the fire in a letter to the court asking for leniency and asserting that his son’s life already had been ruined for “20 minutes of action” fueled by alcohol and a culture of promiscuity.

In court, the victim spoke out against the inequities of the legal process in a lengthy statement, arguing that the trial, the sentencing, and the legal system’s approach to sexual assault—from the defense lawyer’s questions about what she wore that night to her attacker’s light sentence—were irrevocably marred by male and class privilege.

The 23-year-old victim, who was not a student of the university, was attacked while visiting the campus where she attended a fraternity party. In the statement, she spoke of drinking at the party, but not remembering the assault in January 2015. She said she was told she had been found behind a dumpster, and learned from news reports that passersby had discovered Turner on top of her unconscious, partly clothed body. The witnesses intervened and, when Turner attempted to flee, held him for the police.

The victim said Turner had never acknowledged any fault in the attack, insisting the episode had been consensual. She said the court privileged his well-being over her own, and in the end declined to punish him severely because the authorities considered the disruption to his studies and athletic career at a prestigious university when determining his sentence.

In a statement Santa Clara, California district attorney Jeff Rosen said the sentence “did not fit the crime,” and he called Turner, who withdrew from Stanford, a “predatory offender” who refused to take responsibility or show remorse. “Campus rape is no different than off-campus rape,” Rosen said. “Rape is rape.” In an editorial, The San Jose Mercury News called the sentence “a slap on the wrist” and “a setback for the movement to take campus rape seriously.”

Stanford University said on Monday that it “takes the issue of sexual assault extremely seriously” and was proud of two students who intervened to stop Turner’s attack. “There is still much work to be done, not just here, but everywhere, to create a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form and a judicial system that deals appropriately with sexual assault cases,” the university said in a statement.

Lessons drawn from the readings

When David is confronted by God’s prophet Nathan, he does admit his guilt and thereby find forgiveness. Each of us has at one point or another acted in ways that are hurtful to others. The first step in repairing the damage is to acknowledge our own responsibility. Before blaming another, look inward deeply and see what you find there.

Final thought in light of the news

In his statement, the perpetrator’s father said his son planned to use his time on probation to educate college students “about the dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity.” The victim, however, rebuked that proposal: “It is deeply offensive that he would try and dilute rape with a suggestion of promiscuity. By definition rape is the absence of promiscuity, rape is the absence of consent, and it perturbs me deeply that he can’t even see that distinction.”

We still have a long way to go in society to get to the point where we understand sexual assault as a crime of violence, pure and simple. Each of us can do our part to educate young people within our families, schools, churches, and communities. Let’s help make sexual assault completely unacceptable as a society.