Credit unions might think twice before opening the next donation fund after seeing the backlash Wright-Patt CU is getting over the legal defense fund account opened by the father of the Stanford University student who was recently convicted of sexual assault.
The case made national headlines when Stanford student Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unidentified woman behind a dumpster during a fraternity party on the college campus, was sentenced to six months, instead of the six years sought by the prosecution. Barring disciplinary concerns, Turner likely will serve just three months.
The backlash from the case has hit the $3.3 billion CU when local media reported that Turner's father, Dan Turner, a Wright-Patt member, opened a fund account to take donations to be used for Brock Turner's defense. When news of the defense fund hit, Wright-Patt's Facebook page was bombarded by negative statements.
In an email to Credit Union Journal, Wright-Patt was careful to note that the existence of this account is not a statement on the Turner rape case.
"Wright-Patt Credit Union strongly denounces sexual assault and violence of any kind and in no way supports this particular crime or its perpetrator," the credit union said in its email. "The fact that this account remains open should not be interpreted in anyway as supporting the crime or perpetrators of this type of crime. We treat all members the same and do not make decisions about how they manage or use their accounts or their money. Wright-Patt Credit Union respects the privacy of its members."
Public outcry has developed into a change.org petition calling for the impeachment of California Judge Aaron Persky who said, "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others," during a sentencing hearing for Turner. The petition had reached more than one million signers as of mid-day June 10.
Wright-Patt isn't the only one feeling the fallout. Some of the people who made character statement on behalf of Brock Turner prior to his sentencing—statements that were part of a plea to Judge Persky for leniency—are also feeling the heat. Ohio-based indie band Good English, whose drummer Leslie Rasmussen wrote a character statement regarding her childhood with Brock before sentencing, has had a number of concerts canceled, as well as being dropped by their PR firm Behind the Curtains Media in light of the band member's comments.
What Does This Mean for CUs?
"This is a very unfortunate situation for Wright-Patt. [They are] a 'top-of-class' credit union that provides wonderful service to its member-owners and community," said Mike Bell, Attorney at Royal Oak, Mich.- based firm Howard & Howard. "In this instance the issue doesn't appear to have any real or legitimate legal ramifications."
But the reputational ramifications could be substantial.
"More and more CUs understand that social media and the non-stop news world impact them going forward," said Geoff Bacino of the Bacino & Associates consultancy in Washington. "In the Wright-Patt case, you would assume if they did do the due diligence, somewhere along the lines someone might have said,' does this have the chance to backfire?'"
Bacino noted that credit unions may shy away from doing these sorts of funds in future as a result of watching Wright-Patt deal with the blowback from the Turner case. "CUs may not do something in the future that was beneficial in the past," he suggested.
But was it wrong of Wright-Patt to open the account? "You can't expect the CU to pass judgement either -what if a defense fund is set up and the person is found innocent?" Bacino asked. "Credit unions are going to have to examine the things they do and understand the social implications."
