Judge rejects Brock Turner’s ‘outercourse’ plea to have his rape conviction overturned

Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner lost an appeal on his conviction of three counts of rape for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman back in 2015, according to various reports.

Late last month, Turner’s defense made headlines after his attorney argued that since Turner was clothed and didn’t penetrate the woman with his genitals, the only thing that took place was “sexual outercourse” and there was no rape intent on the part of Turner.

In March of 2016, Turner was found guilty by a jury of assault with intent to commit rape, along with two counts of using a foreign object to penetrate an unconscious person. The victim’s identity still remains private.

From Fortune:

The three judges on California’s 6th District Court of Appeal disagreed that errors had occurred in the trial, and denied the appeal. An appeal typically relies on faults during a trial in jury instructions or errors of law in a judge’s decision. During the appeals hearing on July 25, Justice Franklin Elia told Turner’s lawyer, “I absolutely don’t understand what you are talking about.”

Since Turner was an adult at the time of the crime, he will be registered as a sex offender for his entire life.

In 2016, Turner’s case became a point of controversy when the trial judge, Aaron Persky, imposed a only a six-month sentence and made statements that seemed sympathetic to Turner.

“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,” Persky said after prosecutors had asked for a six-years of the 14-year maximum. Turner only ended up serving three months.

In June of this year, Persky was recalled, becoming the first judge in California since 1932. Soon after, the state passed a law mandating a minimum sentence in such cases.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.