Court Upholds Ex-Stanford Swimmer's Sexual Assault Conviction

On Wednesday, an appeals court 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 the man received a fair trial.

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

A judge rejected a prosecutor’s demand for a lengthy prison term and instead sentenced the man to six months in jail. He was released from jail in September 2016 after serving three months.

The man filed an appeal in December seeking a new trial, arguing that the evidence presented at his trial didn’t support his convictions. The jury convicted him of sexually assaulting an intoxicated victim, sexually assaulting an unconscious victim and attempting to rape her.

A judge writing for the unanimous panel said there was “substantial evidence” to support conviction of all three charges.

The man now lives in Dayton, Ohio and is required to register as a sex offender for life.

If you have been convicted of a sex crime in the state of Florida, under certain circumstances you can seek to have your case reopened in an appeal. In order to reopen a sex crime case after a conviction, you must be able to show that there is a substantive reason. These reasons are often revolve around evidence, including:

• DNA evidence
• New evidence
• Evidentiary concerns from the trial

Many people convicted of a sex crime want to appeal their sex offender registration. In some situations, you do have the ability to get yourself removed from the registry, but these situations are always looked at on a case-by-case basis and rely heavily on the individual circumstances surrounding your conviction.

To learn more about the appeals process after you have been convicted of a sex crime, call our Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys at Whittel & Melton at 866-608-5529 or contact us online.