Vandy rape trial juror pressed about being rape victim

• A jury found Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey guilty of aggravated rape and other charges Jan. 27.
• Defense attorneys found out one juror was a victim of statutory rape and say the verdicts should be tossed out.
• Two other former football players%2C Brandon E. Banks and Jaborian %22Tip%22 McKenzie%2C are awaiting trial.

Defense attorneys for two former Vanderbilt University football players convicted of rape say a juror heard 104 questions during jury selection that should have prompted him to disclose he was a victim of statutory rape as a teen.

But the juror did not say anything.

The attorneys say the man's silence shows he tried to get onto the jury that found Brandon Vandenburg, who turned 22 on Monday, and Cory Batey, 21, guilty of raping an unconscious student in a dorm. They say he was biased, and the jury's verdict in January after a 12-day trial should be thrown out.

Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins heard more than four hours of testimony and arguments related to mistrial motions on Monday. He said he expected to rule on the motions next week.

The juror testified on Monday, saying he did not reveal the case when asked in jury selection if he knew victims of sexual assault because he did not consider himself a victim. He said he was 16 and consented to the relationship with a man who was seven or eight years older, and his parents pressed for the case to be prosecuted.

Prosecutors called another juror to testify to argue that the verdict should stand. That juror, Vanderbilt University doctor Geoffrey Fleming, said the disputed juror did not use his personal experience to try and influence others during deliberations.

Assistant District Attorney Roger Moore also pointed out differences in the two cases, calling the juror's relationship consensual while the Vanderbilt incident a "gang rape."

A Hendersonville police detective who investigated the juror's original case testified, confirming that the juror was reluctant to cooperate in the case.

The juror also said he did not think about that relationship, calling it "inconsequential" in his life, until after trial. The Tennessean does not name victims of sexual assault.

Defense attorneys presented evidence trying to show that he couldn't have simply forgotten about such a major incident: The juror went through 18 months of therapy after the breakup, the family installed a security system at their home after the older man made threats and the juror himself underwent a medical evaluation known as a "rape kit."

Randall Reagan, one of Vandenburg's attorneys, questioned why the juror would not think of such a significant event during jury selection.

"None of this crossed your mind?" he began.

"No sir," the juror replied.

"Not the 18 months, the year and a half of counseling, that didn't cross your mind?"

"No sir."

"Not the talk about Our Kids (a child advocacy center) where you had been evaluated, that didn't cross your mind?"

"No sir."

"The 23 instances where you had sex with Mr. Swift (the defendant), a man more than four years older than you when you were under 16, that never crossed your mind?"

"No sir."

"Have you had any kind of treatment for this memory disorder that you have?" Reagan asked, prompting a swift objection from prosecutors and chuckles from those gathered in the courtroom.

Batey's and Vandenburg's family members filled several rows of the courtroom Monday. Vandenburg and Batey are being held in jail pending outcome of the mistrial request and appeared in court in orange Davidson County jail uniforms.

Worrick Robinson, Batey's attorney, said documents such as police reports contradict the juror's statements that he did not consider himself a victim. He said the juror dodged attorneys' questions during jury selection and during Monday's hearing, spinning his story in his favor.

"He's deceitful and he's manipulative," Robinson said.

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