Ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner performed 'sexual outercourse, not rape', argues attorney
The former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner's lawyer argued this week that his client's attempted rape conviction should be overturned because he was practicing "sexual outercourse". The lawyer Eric Multhaup described the crime as a form of "safe sex," according to reports.
Turner was accused and convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside an on-campus fraternity house in 2015. A jury convicted Turner of sexual assault and Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail after a trial in June 2016. The case was widely talked about and Turner's sentence was criticized by many as too lenient. His attorney, however, recently said that the accused never intended to rape an unconscious woman.
Multhaup, in his appeal at a California appeals court in San Jose, reportedly cited witness accounts that Turner was "violently thrusting but fully clothed" when two Swedish graduate students found him on top of a half-naked, intoxicated woman.
However, Malthaup's argument was rubbished by at least one member of a three-justice appellate panel. Justice Franklin D. Elia, told the attorney, "I absolutely don't understand what you are talking about."
While California Assistant Attorney General Alisha Carlile argued that the attorney has presented a "far-fetched version of events" which did not remotely support the facts of the case, reports state.
According to Dayton Daily News, the panel has approximately 90 days to issue a ruling and if the accused wins his appeal, he could erase his status as a lifetime Tier III sex offender in the state of Ohio.
The newspaper also reported that Turner did not attend the appeals court session in California, however, his parents submitted separate objections to him being given a sex offender status.
Turner's mother, Carleen Turner, wrote, "Brock will have to register at the highest tier, which means he is on the same level as a pedophile/child molester."
While the accused's father added, "The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations."
The case sparked national outrage after the victim read a 7,200-word letter to Turner int he courtroom during sentencing. The letter was later published online and ignited a debate on social media about the criminal justice system and campus rape.
After the victim's 7,200-word letter to Turner that she read in the courtroom during sentencing was published online, the case drew national outrage.
"I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives," the victim wrote in her letter. "You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect."
The case exploded on social media and ignited a debate about campus rape and the criminal justice system.