Brock Turner registers in Greene County as Tier III sex offender

UPDATE @ 7 p.m. (Sept. 6):

Brock Turner registered Tuesday morning as a Tier III sex offender behind a pane of transparent glass connected to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office lobby — the same as everyone else, Sheriff Gene Fischer said.

“People can come and see it,” Fischer said. “They’re subject to public viewing.”

It was the latest interaction between the news media, the authorities and Turner, the former Oakwood resident who left jail after three months of a six-month sentence stemming from a sexual assault he committed while a swimmer at Stanford University.

His mother, Carleen, attempted to block the view of the cameras, lifting her white cardigan across the lobby-side of the window as husband Dan remained seated. She finally gave up as her son, behind the glass, filled out a questionnaire about the assault victim.

Race: “American,” he wrote.

Eyes: “Don’t know”

Hair: “Black”

ZIP Code of where occurred or city: “Palo Alto, CA”

What did they say you did? “Sexual Assault”

The Turners left without addressing the media. Among the other stops on the day’s schedule was a visit in Lebanon to register his probation with state officials. He’ll be required to register again with Fischer’s office before Dec. 5.

Sugarcreek Twp. Police Chief Michael Brown said he spoke twice in past months with Dan Turner — once, when Brown noticed him in the driveway — but said the family has not asked for “special attention” from police.

Carleen Turner made two calls to dispatch over the Labor Day weekend in which she expressed that someone sent the residence food that they didn’t order, and that cars were driving past the house taking pictures.

“… I just want to make sure there’s no nonsense starting,” she said during the afternoon call.

Minutes later, she called again. She was concerned about another protest starting.

“So I really, really, really need someone over here to make sure they stay in line,” she said.

A sergeant drove past the house and spoke to her by phone, Brown said. Later in the day, police found “several broken eggs along with an egg carton” on the driveway and sidewalk.

Records show how Sugarcreek Twp. leaders braced for the homecoming.

“Brock Turner is scheduled to be released from prison this Friday afternoon,” Township Administrator Barry Tiffany wrote last week in an email to trustees. Police “Chief (Michael) Brown has been getting calls from the media and is ignoring them at this point.”

The emails streamed in from national media: The Guardian, Associated Press, four different people at CNN, two from the Daily Beast and a handful from TMZ. One AP request came by fax, another, also from TMZ, by FedEx.

“Sergeants,” Brown wrote, forwarding an email from TMZ after the sentencing. “I’m sure it goes without saying, but no one at STPD is authorized to speak to the media nor give any statement related to the Turner family.”

Like other organizations the Dayton Daily News and WHIO cover, including the Oakwood City School District in the days after Turner’s sentencing, Fischer and Brown are now accustomed to the requests.

“Most of them are by phone,” the sheriff said, reading off his most recent list, which included “CNN with a 212 area code … NBC News with a 312 area code, Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Inside Edition, TMZ, Fox TV in Oakland, Calif., AP in Columbus.”

“We’ve got a freelance ABC guy out of Kentucky that’s been camped out in the lobby,” Fischer said. “He told me this morning he was in town yesterday looking for me on the golf course.”

Fischer said this is the busiest his office has ever been with the media. He’s made attempts to return media calls so his deputies “can continue to do what they’re supposed to do.”

“Hopefully, I can go back to being a normal sheriff now,” he said.

UPDATE @ 9:15 p.m. (Sept. 2): Members of the Sugarcreek Twp. Fire Department are using fire hoses to clean chalk-written messages off the sidewalk, driveway and the street in front of the Brock Turner residence in Sugarcreek Twp.

The words that were scrawled included “rapist” and the following: “Its [sic] your job to hold your son/self responsible so he/you don’t hurt my daughters.”

The dozen or so protesters — some of whom where armed — have left the neighborhood. Only reporters, police officers and firefighters remain in the neighborhood.

About a dozen protesters arrived to find they were outnumbered by roughly twice as many reporters, who stood at the neck of the cul de sac. A Cincinnati news chopper circled overhead as a neighbor mowed his lawn.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said another neighbor as he looked skyward.

About a block away, neighbors chatted with Sugarcreek Twp. Police Chief Michael Brown, who declined comment, as a police sergeant watched the armed protesters through binoculars.

Still another neighbor walked up to a front porch carrying a case of Miller Light.

Some protesters who commented asked that their names not be used.

“The reason we decided to bring the kids is to teach them, at a young age, that 20 minutes of wrongdoing to someone…that can ruin your life forever ,” said one mother who brought her children.

She said she is “furious” that she has Turner and his family as neighbors. “They feel like a cancer to us and we need to get them out of here.”

One of the male protesters said he fears that Turner would repeat offense because of the lax sentence he was given in the Stanford case.

UPDATE @ 10:57 a.m. (Sept. 2):

Brock Turner entered a hotel in Palo Alto with his mother and father, according to KTVU-TV.

Turner — wearing sunglasses — did not answer questions from the media. There were about 100 media outlets outside the jail this morning.

There were three protesters when Turner walked out of the jail, according to KTVU-TV. A larger protest is scheduled for later today in California.

At a protest today in Santa Clara, Calif., Rep. Loretta Sanchez said, “Today, Brock Turner is a free man. A judge ignored the horror of the crime. He ignored the voice of the victim – such an eloquent voice. And he ignored the moral and legal duty to impose a just punishment.

“Ninety days in jail for rape is not justice. Six months is not justice,” Sanchez told people in the crowd. “To the courageous survivor: Your message not only touched our hearts, but it is a clarion call for action. We want you to know you are not alone. We are with you and we are going to see this through to see justice is done.”

UPDATE @ 9:29 a.m. (Sept. 2)

Brock Turner was released from Santa Clara County Jail this morning at 9:08 a.m. Eastern/6:08 a.m. Pacific time.

The former Oakwood swimmer carried a coat in his arms and did not speak to reporters as he left. He got into a white Chevy SUV, with a man and woman in the back seat, according to KTVU-TV.

UPDATE @ 8:02 a.m. (Sept. 2)

Speaking to reporters outside the Santa Clara County Jail, Sheriff Laurie Smith said Brock Turner would be released within the next couple of hours.

Smith added extra security is in place for Turner’s release. She said he will walk out the front of the jail as other released inmates, adding he will not receive any special treatment.

UPDATE @ 6:26 a.m. (Sept. 2)

Brock Turner will be released from the Santa Clara County Jail today.

Jail officials in California tell this news organization Turner is expected to be released during daylight hours. Protests are expected outside the jail.

Turner, whose family lives in Sugarcreek Twp., has five days to report to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office to register as a Tier III Sex offender.

After Turner registers as a sex offender, the sheriff’s department will send postcards to Turner’s neighbors, alerting them to his nearby residence.

FIRST REPORT (Sept. 1)

Brock Turner will receive no special treatment when he returns to Ohio, but law enforcement in Greene County are monitoring social media for threats and protests, officials told this news organization.

“We’re not treating him with kid gloves,” Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer told WHIO and the Dayton Daily News. “We’re going to treat him like every other sex offender that comes through the doors.”

Fischer said Turner, the ex-Oakwood swimmer who was convicted in a sexual assault in California, will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender. The status requires Turner to fulfill certain requirements, including registration four times per year for the rest of his life.

Following his release from Santa Clara County Jail in California on Friday, Turner will have five days to report to Fischer’s office in Xenia. After that, the sheriff’s department will send postcards to Turner’s neighbors, alerting them to his nearby residence.

Turner's family moved to Sugarcreek Twp. from Oakwood around the time of the assault. The Turner family could not be reached by telephone this week.

“We will go down to his house where he is living to confirm he is living there,” Fischer said. “We will pop in unannounced from time to time to make sure he’s living where he says he’s living.”

He’ll also be required to meet with a state officer for his three-year probation.

Fischer said local law enforcement expect protests near the Turner residence in the coming days. Already this summer, armed protesters appeared in front of Turner’s house.

Jail officials in California tell this news organization Turner is expected to be released during daylight hours. Protests are expected outside the jail.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith is preparing for Turner's release as well, she told WHIO-TV affiliate KPIX-TV.

“I think that protesters are going to be angry, I think a lot of people are angry over this case,” Smith said. “It’s too light of a sentence for a rapist. But we’re just going to make sure that the public and everyone that’s there is safe on the morning that he’s released.”

Smith also sent a letter to California Gov. Jerry Brown urging him to sign an assembly bill backed by bay area lawmakers that was inspired by the case. It would send convicted sexual predators to state prison instead of county jail, KPIX-TV reports.

Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, told the Dayton Daily News she's focused on unseating Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced Turner to six months, of which he'll serve three. She said efforts of those concerned with the sentence should be focused on changing the system.

“We’re very focused on the judge,” she said. “I don’t support vigilantism or mobs.”

Dauber said she hopes Turner does not re-offend.

“My concern was that he really wasn’t held accountable,” she said. “The concern is always that, if an offender is not held accountable, that he might not get the message and he may re-offend.”

Fischer said he was concerned with preparing for the now-canceled presidential debate at Wright State University when Turner's sentencing first made national headlines.

“I don’t know enough about the case to judge it,” said Fischer. “Knowing a little bit about it, I wouldn’t want my kids around a sex offender at all.”