US vice president Joe Biden has written an open letter in support of a rape victim whose attacker at Stanford University received a "lenient" six-month sentence.
The politician, who has been a long-time campaigner on violence against women, commended her courage in reliving the assault through a harrowing witness statement which has caused a national outcry.
The 7,000-word statement gives a compelling account of the crime and its consequences and has been read online by millions of people worldwide since it was released by the district attorney.
In her statement, the 23-year-old victim told her attacker: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."
In his letter to the victim, published by BuzzFeed, Mr Biden acknowledged the nation was "not satisfied" with the trial of Brock Turner, who will be eligible for release in September after receiving considerably less than the six-year sentence recommended by prosecutors for the assault of the unconscious woman.
"I am filled with furious anger - both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth," Mr Biden wrote.
He also criticised the "callous" remarks made by the rapist's father, who said his son had paid "a steep price … for 20 minutes of action".
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