Former Vanderbilt football player found guilty of rape, sexual battery; faces 15 to 25 years in jail

A Tennessee jury found former Vanderbilt University student Brandon Vandenburg guilty of rape and sexual battery for a second time in the 2013 incident.

Vandenburg is one of four former football players charged in the case, although he is one of two accused of allegedly assaulting the victim. Vandenburg is the only one of the four who knew the victim, and he had continued to text her after the alleged assault.

Vandenburg was found guilty of five counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of unlawful photography. He faces between 15 and 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for July.

According to media reports, his mother wept as the verdict was read. Vandenburg simply nodded his head.

According to the victim’s testimony at the trial, Vandenburg had told her he had taken care of her when she drank too much and she consented to sex. Since they were acquaintances, she only began to question his motives when she heard the rumors around campus. Detectives convinced her to undergo a rape kit when they showed her surveillance video of Vandenburg and three other players carrying her into Vandenburg’s dorm room, according to The Tennessean.

According to the prosecution, Vandenburg allegedly invited three football players he didn’t know over and have sex with the victim, even giving them condoms. He also allegedly recorded the other players assaulting the victim. The defense maintained that Vandenburg asked their help to carry the victim to her room, and that he did not know what happened next.

Vandenburg allegedly tried to cover up what happened, even traveling to California to destroy evidence. But graphic video and photos survived, and were shown at the trial.

Vandenburg was first tried with one of the other accused players, Corey Batey, and they were convicted last year. But the verdict was thrown out after one the jurors later disclosed she had been a victim of statutory rape.

Batey was convicted in April of one count of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The other two players, Brandon E. Banks and Jaborian McKenzie, have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Vandenburg’s conviction comes weeks after a Stanford student, Brock Turner, drew national outrage after receiving a sentence of just six months after being convicted of raping a student.