Found guilty of aggravated rape in a June retrial, a former Vanderbilt football received his sentence earlier Friday.
According to the The Tennessean, Brandon Vandenburg was sentenced by a criminal judge to 17 years in prison for the on-campus rape of an unconscious female student three years ago. Vandenburg could’ve faced up to 25 years in prison as a result of the conviction; the minimum sentence was 15.
In January of 2015, Vandenburg and another co-defendant, Cory Batey, were convicted on multiple counts in connection to a 2013 rape on the university’s campus. Five months later, a judge declared a mistrial in the case.
In his April retrial, Batey was convicted of aggravated rape. Three months later, Batey was sentenced to 15 years in prison as well.
The Tennessean writes that the judge gave Vandenburg a longer sentence than Batey because the former “was a leader in the attack and betrayed the woman’s trust.”
The victim did not attend Vandenburg’s sentencing; instead, the assistant district attorney general in the case, Jan Norman, read a statement on her behalf.Please do not use my absence as an excuse for leniency, as it in no way diminishes the profound and insidious impact of Mr. Vandenburg on me and my life,” Norman read.
“I still ask that he receive the full sentence allowed under the law for orchestrating the sustained 30-minute gang rape against me, a defenseless woman who trusted him.
“The minimum sentence is not enough for what this man did to me.
Vandenburg, Batey and two other former Vandy football players, Brandon Banks and Jaborian ‘Tip’ McKenzie, were initially charged Aug. 9, 2013, with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery each after a police investigation determined that the four had raped an unconscious woman.
On June 28 of 2013, Vanderbilt announced that four unnamed players had been indefinitely suspended amid reports that the players were connected to an alleged sex crimes case. The next day, Vandy officials further clarified the players’ statuses, releasing a statement announcing the dismissals of the four. That release further added that none of the four will be permitted to return to campus without permission from the office of student conduct and academic integrity.
Banks and McKenzie have pleaded guilty and their cases are still pending.