Guilty verdicts don't mean end to Vandy rape case

The Tuesday convictions of two former Vanderbilt University football players in a June 2013 rape brings some resolution after 19 months, but the case file is not yet closed.

Two co-defendants, Brandon E. Banks and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, both 20, are awaiting trial. They are charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

Whether Banks' and McKenzie's cases make it to trial has yet to be determined.

Authorities said Banks, McKenzie, Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey raped an unconscious Vanderbilt student in a dorm on June 23, 2013. A jury returned 16 guilty verdicts against Batey and Vandenburg, both 21, after a 12-day trial that ended Tuesday. Vandenburg and Batey are scheduled to be sentenced March 6.

District Attorney Glenn Funk said after the March sentencing that his staff would meet to discuss the two pending cases.

"Only after we get past the other two cases, and after we've spent some time analyzing the culpability of each individual and talking to the victim at length and getting her input," would they decide a course of action, Funk said.

He said the office would consider plea deals, but those would take into account the severity of charges. He said evidence in the now-ended trial could provide an incentive for the other co-defendants to take a deal.

McKenzie has already said he hopes for a good deal — and less prison time — in his case by testifying in the trial of his former teammates.

"We will factor that in, and we will see what we think is appropriate," Funk said.

Also pending is a contempt of court proceeding. Prosecutors asked Judge Monte Watkins — who oversaw the rape trial — to hold a hearing on issues that came up before trial. They say the defense teams violated a rape shield law with a court filing that released protected information about the victim.

There is no date set in that matter, but Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman said Wednesday it would be pursued before the March sentencing.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger.