Brock Turner left Santa Clara County Jail in California before the sun had risen Friday, ignoring questions from reporters like, "Are you going to say you're sorry, Brock?" The former Stanford University swimmer—who kept his head down and rode off in a white SUV just after 6am local time—served three months of a six-month sentence for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman behind a dumpster in January 2015, report BuzzFeed and CNN. Turner was released early for good behavior. He will now be on probation for three years, and must register as a sex offender and complete a sex-offender management program, reports the San Jose Mercury News. He is expected to return to his family's Ohio home in the Dayton suburb of Sugarcreek Township, reports the Daily Beast.
"Because of his notoriety, Turner will have the whole community as his probation officer," says a legal analyst. "Any violation may land him back in front of a judge, where he then could face a stiff prison sentence." Before Turner's exit, Sheriff Laurie Smith stood outside the jail expressing support for a bill that would increase punishments for those who sexually assault intoxicated victims. Had the bill been law when Turner was sentenced, he would have faced a minimum of three years in jail. Women's advocacy group UltraViolet and others hoping to recall Judge Aaron Persky plan to hold rallies at the jail on Friday. (More Brock Turner stories.)