Two former Vandy players convicted of rape, two still await trial
A jury has convicted two former Vanderbilt football players of raping a fellow student.
Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey were found guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery. The victim was a 21-year-old neuroscience and economics major at the time of the June 2013 attack.
Both men, who are 21— Batey turned 21 on Tuesday — face several years in prison when they are sentenced on March 6.
The jury, which took just three hours to deliberate, heard two weeks of testimony from several witness, including police, former and current Vanderbilt students and the victim, who said she couldn’t remember the attack. The only thing she could remember was drinking with Vandenburg and waking up in a strange dorm room.
However, cell phone photos taken by the perpetrators and surveillance video from the dormitory told the story. Closed-circuit video showed the players carrying an unconscious woman into an elevator and down a hallway. It also showed players taking pictures of the unconscious woman in compromising positions before dragging her into the dorm room.
Players took cell phone photos of the passed out woman and sent then to their friends. Those images were enough for the jury to convict despite defense lawyers claiming that both players were too drunk to know what they were doing and saying that a college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex was to blame.
The victim was in the courtroom at the time the verdicts were read and cried as each was announced.
During the trial, Vandenburg's lawyer maintained his client didn’t participate in the rape, but was complicit in taking photos and sending them to friends, including a pair in California. However, witnesses testified that Vandenburg, who was the victim’s boyfriend, handed out condoms to the other assailants and encouraged them to have sex with her.
Batey’s lawyer claimed his client should be declared not guilty because the images did not explicitly show him assaulting the woman, though he was present in the images.
Following the verdict, the university released a statement standing by its decision to dismiss the players form the school.
"We will also continue our comprehensive ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the importance of every Vanderbilt student intervening when another student is at risk or in distress," the statement read.
Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie and Brandon Banks, two players who also were involved in the incident, are awaiting trial for their roles in the assault. No trial date has been set. McKenzie testified during this trial he did not touch the woman, but did take pictures.
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