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Brock Turner's Attorney Wants Sexual Assault Conviction Thrown Out, Claims He Only Wanted 'Outercourse'
Judges appeared skeptical of attorney Eric Multhaup's argument.
An attorney representing Brock Turner argued to have his sexual assault conviction overturned on Tuesday, claiming Turner had only engaged in “sexual outercourse.”
Turner, a former student athlete at Stanford University, was found guilty in 2016 of assault with intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person with a foreign object, according to KNTV, NBC News’ San Francisco Bay Area affiliate.
Turner, in addition to having to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, was sentenced to six months in jail, but was released in September 2016 after three months, CNN reports.
Turner’s attorney Eric Multhaup argued in a California appeals court on Tuesday that his client had engaged in “sexual outercourse,” which he defined as a “version of safe sex” that does not involve vaginal sex, KNTV reports.
Turner’s actions did not demonstrate the intent to commit rape, he argued, according to KNTV. Turner was clothed during the incident and his genitals were not exposed, Multhaup reportedly said. Multhaup also accused the jury of reaching their decision by “fill[ing] in the blanks,” reports KNTV.
Turner was not present in the courtroom that day, according to KNTV.
The panel of three judges who heard Multhaup’s argument has 90 days to issue a ruling, according to the Associated Press.
Justice Franklin D. Elia seemed especially skeptical.
“I absolutely don’t understand what you are talking about,” Elia said during the hearing, according to AP. He then added that the law “requires the jury verdict to be honored.”
Turner’s sentence — which many considered too lenient — sparked nationwide outrage and renewed interest in campus sexual assault.
California Judge Aaron Persky defended his sentencing decision earlier this year before being recalled in a June 2018 vote.
[Photo: Brock Turner leaves the Santa Clara County Main Jail on September 2, 2016, in San Jose, California. By Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group/TNS via Getty Images]
