Brock Turner is appealing his rape conviction after being sentenced to six months behind bars for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party.
The New York Daily News reported on Saturday, December 2, that lawyers for the former Stanford University swimmer described his first trial as a “detailed and lengthy set of lies” and also claimed that Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky “neglected to tell jurors to consider lesser criminal charges.”
Turner’s legal team also noted in their 172-page brief filed on Friday, December 1, that Persky “excluded testimony from character witnesses they believe would have helped exonerate their client.”
The case received worldwide attention after Turner’s victim delivered a heartbreaking 12-page statement detailing her experience.
As previously reported, two graduate students witnessed Turner raping the unnamed woman — who was referred to as Emily Doe during the trial — in January 2015 and chased him before holding him down until police arrived.
He later pled not guilty to five felony charges and alleged that he and the victim had hooked up at a party. He was released on $150,000 bail.
Turner was eventually convicted of three felony sexual assault charges, including assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object, and faced a maximum of 10 years behind bars. However, in June 2016, Persky sentenced Turner to just six months in prison, sparking outrage across the nation. His ruling in the widely publicized trial prompted calls for the judge to be removed from the bench. Turner ended up serving just three months before he was released.
The victim, who woke up at a hospital and learned the details of her assault from the press, wrote a moving letter that she read aloud to Turner in court during the trial. The emotional essay described how she felt after the assault, the emotional toll it took to tell her family and how the ordeal “has done irreversible damage” to her.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told the Mercury News on Friday that Turner “received a fair trial and was justly convicted.”
“His conviction will be upheld,” he added. “Nothing can ever roll back Emily Doe’s legacy of raising the world’s awareness about sexual assault.”
If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing and recovering, and more.
