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Vanderbilt rape case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Vanderbilt rape case is a criminal case of sexual assault that occurred on June 23, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee, in which four Vanderbilt University football players carried an unconscious 21-year-old female student into a dorm room, where they gang-raped and sodomized her, while videotaping the attack.[1][2][3][4][5]

Vanderbilt Rape Case
LocationVanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
DateJune 23, 2013
Victims1
PerpetratorsBrandon Vandenburg, Lamont Batey, Brandon E. Banks, Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie
ChargesAggravated Rape, Aggravated Sexual Battery
Convictions3 at trial, 1 by plea. Sentences of 15–17 years for convictions at trial

Three of the rapists were convicted, and received prison sentences ranging from 15 years, the minimum allowed by Tennessee law for their crimes, to 17 years. The fourth player accepted a plea deal which included 10 years' probation, and did not receive any jail time.

Rape

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The victim testified that on the evening of June 23, 2013, that she had met Brandon Vandenburg (20) at The Tin Roof bar in Nashville. Vandenburg was, according to ESPN, “the nation’s No. 1 junior college tight end” at the time, though he had not yet played a game as a Commodore.[6] The victim had seen Vandenburg two or three times before that night. At the bar, Vandenburg gave her multiple drinks, and after the fourth, a blue drink she said he called a “California Long Island Iced Tea,” she remembers almost nothing until she woke up the next morning. Vandenburg drove the victim back to his dorm in the school's Gillette Hall, where he enlisted the help of teammates Lamont Batey (19), Brandon E. Banks (19), and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie (19), in carrying the woman to his room where they gang-raped and sodomized her, slapped her, inserted their fingers in her, and sat on her face as she was on the floor in a 32-minute attack.[7][8][1][9][2][10] They took over 40 graphic photos, and took videos of the rape with the cell phones of Vandenburg, Batey, and Banks.[11][10] The victim (who is white) told the court that after Batey (who is black) raped her, he urinated on her face while saying she deserved what he was doing to her because of the color of her skin, saying what sources reported was "That's for 400 years of slavery, you bitch."[12][10][13]

Investigation

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By June 25th, details began to emerge after campus staffers find "suspicious" surveillance footage while researching a separate incident. Gerald Black, an associate dean who oversees student misconduct hearings, records interviews with nine student-athletes over several hours. Later, officials alert campus police.[14]

On June 29th, Vandenburg, Batey, Banks and Mckenzie, are dismissed from the team. [15]

In August, Investigators meet with Joseph D. Quinzio and Miles J. Finley, friends of Vandenburg who lived in California and who were in receipt of some of the graphic videos. The two were high school teammates and friends of Vandenburg. [16]

On August 9th, Vandenburg, Batey, Banks and Mckenzie were each indicted on five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery .[17] [18]

On August 16th, three more people, including Chris Boyd, a Commodores star wide receiver at the time, were also indicted. Boyd was charged with on one felony count of being an accessory after the fact. Finley and Quinzio were charged with evidence tampering.

Case

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The four defendants documented their gang rape with both videos and pictures and tried to delete them. When the footage was recovered, it was presented in court, as well as hallway security camera footage of the defendents carrying the victim.[19]

Chris Boyd, pleaded guilty in September 2013 to being an accessory after the fact by encouraging teammates to keep quiet and destroy evidence of the rape. He was dismissed from the team but not the university for his role in helping cover up the rape.[20][21][22] He testified against Vandenberg and Batey as part of the plea deal, and was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation.[23]

The trial of Vandenburg and Batey at Davidson County Criminal Court began on January 12th, 2015 and concluded on January 27th when the jury found both men guilty of multiple counts of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery.[24] On June 23rd 2015, a mistrial was declared in the case based on a juror failing to disclose that she'd been a victim of statutory rape.[25]

Batey was retried on April 4th 2016, and four days of testimony the jury returned guilty verdicts on aggravated rape, facilitation of aggravated rape, two counts of attempted aggravated rape and three counts of aggravated sexual battery.[26] In July 2016, Batey received a 15-year prison sentence, the minimum allowed by law for his crimes (while both the victim and prosecutors had asked the judge for the maximum sentence possible of 25 years to be meted out); after he gets out he will be required to be listed on the sex-offender registry for the rest of his life.[2][27][10][28] He is serving his time in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.[29]

Vandenburg was retried on June 13th 2016, and days later found guilty of five counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of unlawful photography.[30] While Vandenburg was not accused of engaging directly in the rape, the prosecution argued criminal responsibility under Tennessee Law.[31] In November 2016, Vandenburg was sentenced to 17 years in prison. After release, he will be required to be listed on the sex-offender registry for the rest of his life.[32] He is serving his time in Morgan County Correctional Complex.[29]

Banks was tried on June 19th 2017, and days later found guilty of one count of aggravated rape and one count of aggravated sexual battery.[33] In August 2017, after being convicted, Banks received a 15-year sentence. Upon release he will be required to be listed on the sex-offender registry for the rest of his life.[34] He is serving his time in Turney Center Industrial Complex.[29]

McKenzie plead guilty to one count of facilitation of aggravated rape on May 21st 2018. He testified against his co-defendants and received 10 years' probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender. He was the only one of the four defendants to not receive any jail time.[7][35][36] He was not seen touching the victim after he helped his teammates carry her into the dorm room.[37][7][38]

Appeals by Batey, Vandenburg, and Banks to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in efforts to have their convictions overturned were unsuccessful in 2019.[35] In 2020, the Tennessee Supreme Court declined to reconsider Vandenburg's appeal of his conviction.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Prosecutors detail assault as Vanderbilt University rape trial opens". Reuters. January 14, 2015 – via www.reuters.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Former Vanderbilt football player sentenced in dorm rape case". CBS News. July 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ Stevens, Matt (June 23, 2017). "Third Former Vanderbilt Football Player Convicted of Rape". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  4. ↑ Moyer, Justin Wm (January 28, 2015). "Two former Vanderbilt football players convicted of rape thanks to pictures one of them took during attack". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. ↑ Barchenger, Stacey; Tamburin, Adam (June 27, 2017). "Jury: Brandon E. Banks guilty in Vanderbilt rape case". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Brandon Vandenburg picks Vandy". ESPN.
  7. 1 2 3 Tamburin, Adam (May 21, 2018). "Jaborian McKenzie, final Vanderbilt rape suspect, gets plea deal: 10 years probation, lifelong sex offender". The Tennessean.
  8. ↑ Haas, Brian (December 3, 2013). "Vanderbilt accuser at first denied she was raped". USA TODAY.
  9. ↑ "Former Vanderbilt football player found guilty of raping a student who had blacked out," The Washington Post.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Barchenger, Stacey (May 25, 2017). "Cory Batey sentenced to 15 years in Vanderbilt rape case". The Tennessean.
  11. ↑ "Ex-Vanderbilt player Brandon Banks named in reports on Bucs QB Jameis Winston's suspension". The Tennessean. June 22, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Batey gets 15 years in Vanderbilt rape case". ESPN. July 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "A look at complex Vanderbilt rape case that left a community reeling". SportsIllustrated.
  14. ↑ "Vanderbilt rape case: Timeline of key events". The Tennesean. The Tennesean.
  15. ↑ "Vanderbilt Rape Case: A timeline of events". Fox17.
  16. ↑ "Tennessee jury convicts Brandon Vandenburg of rape". Desert Sun. Desert Sun.
  17. ↑ "Dismissed Vanderbilt football players indicted for rape". USA Today.
  18. ↑ "Initial court date set for 4 ex-Vanderbilt players". ESPN.
  19. ↑ "Update On The Vanderbilt Rape Case: One Rapist Still Walks Free". ENTITY. July 6, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  20. ↑ Couch, Mikayla Lewis, Scott (November 3, 2016). "Vanderbilt Rape Case: A timeline of events". WZTV.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Haas, Brian (September 17, 2013). "Chris Boyd dismissed from Vanderbilt football program". USA Today. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Chris Boyd becomes fifth Vanderbilt football player indicted in rape case". CBS News. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  23. ↑ Crockett, Emily (June 20, 2016). "After 3 years and 3 trials, another ex-Vanderbilt football player convicted in gang rape". Vox.
  24. ↑ "Former Vanderbilt Football Players Found Guilty In Rape Case". NPR.
  25. ↑ "Judge declares mistrial in Vanderbilt rape case". CBS News. CBS News.
  26. ↑ "Jury finds ex-Vanderbilt player Cory Batey guilty of rape, sexual battery". ABC7. ABC7.
  27. ↑ "State of Tennessee v. Cory Lamont Batey | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts". www.tncourts.gov.
  28. ↑ Barchenger, Stacey. "Cory Batey sentenced to 15 years in Vanderbilt rape case". USA TODAY.
  29. 1 2 3 Tamburin, Adam. "After nearly 5 years, fourth and final defendant in Vanderbilt rape case appears in court". The Tennessean.
  30. ↑ "Former Vanderbilt University Football Player Found Guilty Of Rape — Again". TPR.org. TPR.
  31. ↑ "How The Vanderbilt Retrials are Different". The Tennessean. The Tennessean.
  32. ↑ Barchenger, Stacey. "Brandon Vandenburg sentenced to 17 years in Vanderbilt rape case". The Tennessean.
  33. ↑ "Jury finds former Vanderbilt football player guilty of rape". AP. AP.
  34. ↑ Barchenger, Stacey. "Brandon Banks sentenced to 15 years in prison in Vanderbilt rape case". The Tennessean.
  35. 1 2 3 Tamburin, Adam. "Tennessee Supreme Court will not consider Brandon Vandenburg's rape case appeal". The Tennessean.
  36. ↑ "Fourth former Vanderbilt player gets probation in rape". May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Last Vanderbilt rape suspect avoids prison after plea deal, testifying against fellow defendants". Yahoo. May 22, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Final Vanderbilt rape suspect gets plea deal: 10 years probation, lifelong sex offender". 10News. 10News.
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