Ohio’s Online Whisper Network Kicks Into High Gear Over Brock Turner

Ohioans are taking to social media to warn each other that Brock Turner, the disgraced Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in 2016, is apparently back in town. Alarmed users began posting about Turner’s whereabouts last week, saying that the now-27-year-old had “moved back” to Dayton, and had been spotted at bars in the city’s suburbs. “If you see him out, inform the bartenders who he is, inform the women in the bar who he is, do not let anyone intoxicated walk away with him alone,” read one Aug. 17 Facebook post that was copied and shared more than 18,000 times. A warning posted to Twitter a day later received nearly 85,000 likes. “BROCK TURNER DOES NOT BELONG IN PUBLIC,” the tweet read. Vice News pointed out on Monday that it was unclear why the warnings were emerging now, as Turner—who is from Bellbrook, Ohio—has reportedly lived in the state for years. “Considering he’s going out to local bars, I get the feeling he wants to go out in public and hope everyone moves on,” wrote a poster on the Dayton subreddit. “So keep spreading awareness so that fucking creep can never do that.”