What Is Outercourse? Brock Turner Loses Appeal Of Sexual Assault Conviction

A California appellate court Wednesday rejected an attempt made by Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer, to overturn sexual assault and attempted rape felonies against him by claiming he wanted “outercourse” with the victim and not sexual intercourse. A three-judge panel rejected a new trial and said he had received a fair trial.

Turner was originally arrested in 2015 after students witnessed him assaulting a young, intoxicated woman outside an on-campus fraternity party. His case drew attention internationally in 2016 after he was sentenced to only 6 months in Santa Clara County jail, California, which critics felt was way too lenient.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was criticized for the sentence and was removed from office by voters in early 2018 after a recall campaign.

In June, Eric S. Multhaup, Turner’s attorney, argued gaps in the prosecution's case and told the court there was no evidence to prove at what point the lady lost consciousness. However, he attracted attention when he said his did not intend to the rape the victim because he was found fully clothed, arguing that “outercourse” is sexual contact while clothed and is also a form of “safe sex”.

Turner was "violently thrusting but fully clothed" when the students saw him, the lawyer said citing a witness' account.

Justice Franklin D. Elia, one of the judges did not buy the argument and said "I absolutely don't understand what you are talking about.”

Elia said Wednesday that Turner tried to run from the two students who confronted him however he denied running when questioned by police. "He did not explain or defend himself to them and he lied to police about running,” Elia said.

“The appellate court has now rejected that idea and I think everyone, including Brock Turner, would be better served by accepting the jury’s verdict and moving on,” Stanford law professor Michelle Dauber, who led the judge’s panel, said calling on Turner to drop any further appeals.

Dauber, who protested against the sentence for two years said: “Turner never deserved the short misdemeanor sentence he received from Judge Persky — a sentence that sent the message that his crimes were not really serious. The Appellate Court has now rejected that idea.”

Outercourse in general terms is everything that does not involve penetration including hot talk, erotic fantasies, sensual massages, showering or bathing together and phone sex. It is lovemaking without penetration into a vagina or an anus with no semen, vaginal fluids, or blood shared between partners, according to Goaskalice.columbia.edu.

According to experts, it is a good alternative to actually having full sexual intercourse as it protects against pregnancy and some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to a certain extent.

Debby Herbenick, director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University looked at data from 1,055 women and found only 18.4 percent said intercourse was enough for an orgasm while the rest required outercourse.

Amy Levine, sex coach and founder of Ignite Your Pleasure feels people equate intimacy with the "in-and-out of sex" and it is, most of the times, due to a “lack of relationship role models to teach them about true intimacy,” Bustle reported.