NEWS

Detective: Vandenburg 'giggled' during alleged rape in Vanderbilt dorm

Stacey Barchenger
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Brandon Vandenburg "giggled" during an alleged rape in a Vanderbilt University dorm, a detective testified on Monday.

Metro Nashville Police Detective Chad Gish testifies  about videos he  retrieved during day six of the Vanderbilt rape trial on Monday.

Metro Police Detective Chad Gish's testimony delved into Vandenburg's role in the alleged crime, focusing on graphic videos and messages Vandenburg sent to friends. Prosecutors are trying to convict Vandenburg by saying he is criminally responsible for the alleged acts even though trial evidence so far has not shown that he physically participated in the sexual assault.

Vandenburg, 21, and Cory Batey, 20, are accused of five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

Vandenburg is also accused of unlawful photography and tampering with evidence. Two others, Brandon E. Banks and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, both 20, are also accused and will be tried separately. All four former Vanderbilt football players have pleaded not guilty.

When defense attorneys got their crack at Gish's crucial testimony during cross examination, they focused on the number of pictures prosecutors showed the jury and how the detective identified the men in the images and details of the assault.

Gish told the jury that, during the course of his investigation, he found messages and videos of the alleged assault that Vandenburg sent to two friends in California, Miles J. Finley and Joseph D. Quinzio.

Gish said Finley's phone was wiped, but he recovered three videos from Quinzio's laptop. The videos — which Gish previously called the case's "smoking gun" — were played in court Monday for the jury and could not be seen by the public.

Gish identified Vandenburg in those videos, laughing and talking to the other men accused in the case.

The detective said it is Vandenburg saying "squeeze that [expletive], squeeze that [expletive]" while the alleged victim was being assaulted with a water bottle. Other key points of Gish's testimony:

  • He said Vandenburg sent messages to Quinzio asking him to delete the videos. Quinzio may testify at trial.

  • Gish found a voicemail from Vandenburg on Quinzio's phone, left about an hour after the alleged rape. "I'm in deep [expletive]," the message said when played in court.

  • Gish said he found messages from a conversation between Vandenburg and Quinzio in which Vandenburg laments being unable to get an erection and said he planned on having sex the night of the alleged rape. Gish said that at one point Vandenburg wrote in a message he had "hashtag penis probs."

Fletcher Long, Vandenburg's attorney, scrutinized Gish's testimony, focusing in part on the number of photos shown to jurors Friday.

"I believe that some 30 or so images came in through your direct testimony that came out of the phones of Banks, Vandenburg or Batey?" Long asked the detective.

"Yes," Gish replied.

"These weren't 30 separate events, some of them were multiple views of the same event?" Long asked.

"Yes," Gish said.

Long also questioned how Gish could be certain about parts of his testimony, specifically pinpointing the dorm where the crime allegedly took place as Vandenburg's room when Gish had never been there.

"Isn't there a white tile floor in every room in Gillette Hall?" Long asked.

"Yes," Gish said.

Long asked about previous testimony when Gish said he found pornographic websites searched in the timeframe of the alleged rape on Vandenburg's laptop. Long asked if Gish could prove it was Vandenburg who surfed the sites. Gish said he could not be certain.

What's next

Trial resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Co-defendant Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie is expected testify. McKenzie has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

His testimony, likely to be heavily scrutinized by the defense, could be crucial as the prosecution seeks to eliminate any doubt in jurors' minds that Vandenburg and Batey were both in the room during the alleged rape and are both responsible.

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