Jury chosen in Vanderbilt rape retrial of Vandenburg

MEMPHIS — The jury that will hear the retrial of Brandon Vandenburg, a former Vanderbilt University football player charged in the sexual assault of an unconscious woman in his dorm nearly three years ago, was picked here Thursday night.

The 14 jurors were chosen at about 8:10 p.m. after an about nine-hour day of questions and vetting. They are nine women and five men.

And they received an apology from Nashville Judge Monte Watkins for keeping them to the late hour, and for ensuing parking issues in downtown Memphis.

Potential jurors stuck in court until the final 14 were picked complained their cars had been booted outside. One woman left twice to move her car. Watkins said the court clerk would take care of those issues.

The late hour and long day left many restless.

"How are you today?" Assistant District Attorney General Jan Norman asked one man about 5 p.m.

"Tired of sitting down," the man replied, drawing laughs. Three more hours passed before the final jury was picked.

The jurors include: A financial analyst. An information technology director. The mother of a crime victim killed 10 years ago in Memphis. A city employee who knows someone who was raped. A stay-at-home mom of three. A small-business account executive whose relatives went to Vanderbilt University.

Judge Watkins relocated jury selection to Memphis because of intense media coverage of Vandenburg's trial last year, which led to a mistrial because of an issue with a juror.

Picking the jury happened in two days. On Wednesday, 98 Shelby County residents called for jury duty were dismissed because of hardships — like they couldn't miss work or had to care for family members — or had followed the case and could not set opinions aside.

The chosen jurors will be bused to Nashville on Sunday and sequestered. Vandenburg's trial is expected to last four to six days.

But, as defense lawyer Randall Reagan said in jury selection Thursday evening: "This is a long process. Everyone's tired today. This is probably just an example of what's to come."

Vandenburg, 22, is charged with five counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery and unlawful photography.

Testimony from the previous trial indicated he did not physically participate in the rape of the woman in his dorm room on June 23, 2013. But prosecutors say he should be held responsible because he encouraged the acts.

Vandenburg, a football recruit who had been on campus only a few weeks, had been dating the woman. The Tennessean generally does not name victims of sexual assault.

Another ex-player, Cory Batey, went to trial a second time and was found guilty in April. Two other men, Brandon E. Banks and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, are awaiting their first trial.

Of more than 160 people who were called for jury duty, only 22 remained at the end of the night Thursday. They were dismissed.

"You don't have to come back for the next 10 years," a Shelby County sheriff's deputy told them.

"Praise the Lord," one woman said.

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