A lawyer for a former US college swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman has launched an appeal.
Ex-Stanford student Brock Turner was found guilty of intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person.
He was sentenced to six months in jail in 2016, a sentence that was widely criticised as lenient.
The sentencing judge was removed from office by voters last month.
Yesterday, Turner’s lawyer said there had been insufficient evidence to convict, telling justices at a California appeals court there was no evidence to prove at what point the woman became unconscious, local media reported.
Eric Multhaup described Turner’s actions as “outercourse”, meaning a sexual act while clothed rather than intent to rape.
The appeals court judges appeared sceptical of Mr Multhaup's arguments, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors had sought a six-year term but Turner was released after serving three months of the six-month sentence.
He was also placed on the sex-offenders register for life.
His sentence caused outrage, as did his claim that Stanford's "party culture" was to blame for his actions.
Outrage was compounded by a letter written by Turner's father.
He wrote his son's life would "never be the one that he dreamed about... a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life".
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