Convicted rapist Brock Turner, who served a widely criticized six-month jail sentence for assaulting an unconscious woman on campus, is appealing his conviction and asking for a new trial.
Turner filed a 172-page brief Friday arguing that the prosecutor incorrectly told jurors during the trial that the sexual assault happened behind a dumpster — and that doing so amounted to prosecutorial misconduct, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The latest development comes more than a year after Turner was released from jail, where he served only half of his sentence because of good behavior. Turner, was 20 when jurors convicted him last year.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky drew widespread condemnation when he sentenced Turner to six months in jail, three years of probation and a requirement to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors asked for six years in prison.
In his appeal, Turner argued that contrary to what Deputy District Attorney Alaleh Kianerci repeatedly told jurors, the sexual assault happened near a three-sided trash bin, but not behind it, according to the Mercury News. Saying the assault happened behind the dumpster is “prejudicial” and implied that Turner was trying to hide what he was doing.
He also argued that Persky deprived him of a fair trial when he did not instruct jurors to consider lesser criminal charges before they began deliberating and excluded testimony from character witnesses.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement to the Mercury News that Turner received a fair trial and was justly convicted.
“His conviction will be upheld. Nothing can ever roll back Emily Doe’s legacy of raising the world’s awareness about sexual assault,” Rosen said, referring to the name the victim was referred to throughout the trial.
Turner risks a second conviction by asking for another trial, which, if granted by California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal, would be presided over by another judge.
Turner was convicted in March 2016 of three felonies, including assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. The assault happened during a frat party in the early hours of Jan. 18, 2015, when witnesses saw Turner lying on top of a half-naked, unconscious woman.
Read Emily Doe’s powerful statements here and here.
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