Oakwood High graduate loses appeal in Calif. sex assault case
An appeals court upheld Oakwood High School graduate Brock Turner’s sexual assault conviction, punctuating the latest chapter in the nationally controversial case and the aftermath which has left an indelible mark on California’s judicial system.
The California Sixth District Court of Appeals’ three-judge panel ruled Wednesday that there was “substantial evidence” Turner received a fair trial in 2016 when a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting an intoxicated and unconscious woman at Stanford University.
The court said Turner’s argument — that he only engaged in “sexual outercourse” or “safe sex,” and that he did not intend to rape the victim — “lacks merit.”
“The fact that defendant was engaging in a different sexual act at the time the encounter was interrupted (namely, ‘dry humping’) does not foreclose the inference that he intended, ultimately, to rape ‘the victim,’ ” the court wrote.
In July, Turner’s attorney, Eric Multhaup, argued there wasn’t enough factual evidence to convict Turner of three charges: 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.
Appellate Justices Frank Elia, Adrienne Grover and Wendy Clark Duffy handed down the decision. Multhaup declined comment for this story.
Elia, writing for the unanimous panel, said there was “substantial evidence” to support conviction of all three charges.
In particular, the judge pointed out that Turner tried to run from two graduate students who confronted him assaulting the then-22-year- old woman. The judge wrote that the victim was slurring her speech when she left a fraternity party with Turner, and the graduate students testified the victim appeared unconscious when they showed up, chased Turner and held him down until police arrived. He denied running when ques- tioned by police.
“He did not explain or defend himself to them,” Elia wrote. “And he lied to police about running.”
Turner could petition the California Supreme Court to consider his appeal.
Former Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky rejected a prosecutor’s demand for a lengthy prison term and instead sen- tenced Turner to six months in jail after his 2016 trial. He was released from jail in Sep- tember 2016 after serving three months. In June, Persky became the first Cali- fornia judge recalled from office since 1932 after a heated campaign was mounted by a group of activists who found his sentencing of Turner too lenient.
Tur n er’s conviction and sentenc ing sparked a nationwide controversy and wide-ranging discussions about sexual assaults on college campuses. The victim’s description of what happened to her, now widely published on the internet, was so forcefully written that then-Vice President Joe Biden penned an open letter to her that said, “I do not know your name — but your words are forever seared on my soul.”
In 2016, California’s governor signed a sex crimes bill authored in the aftermath of Turner’s case. The law, passed unanimously in the California State Assembly, is intended to ensure convicted sexual assailants serve prison time instead of jail sentences.
Turner now lives in Sugarcreek Twp. and did not appear in person at the hearing in San Jose, Calif. His Tier III designation means he is required to register with Greene County every 90 days.