Court upholds sex assault conviction of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner

SAN FRANCISCO—An appeals court on Wednesday rejected a former Stanford University swimmer’s bid for a new trial and upheld his sexual assault and attempted rape convictions.

The three-judge panel of the 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose ruled Wednesday that there was “substantial evidence” that Brock Turner received a fair trial.

Judge Franklin 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 questioned by police.

“He did not explain or defend himself to them,” Elia wrote. “And he lied to police about running.”

In 2016, a jury convicted Turner of sexually assaulting an intoxicated and unconscious woman outside an on-campus fraternity party.

The case got national attention after the victim’s powerful statement, which she read in court before Turner was sentenced, was shared widely online.

Judge Aaron Persky rejected a prosecutor’s demand for a lengthy prison term and instead sentenced Turner to six months in jail. He was released from jail in September 2016 after serving three months.