NEWS

What happened in Vanderbilt dorm? Rape trial starts Monday

Tony Gonzalez
tgonzalez@tennessean.com

Whatever happened in the Vanderbilt dorm room that night — the young men involved took steps to cover it up.

That much, at least, is known.

It came out in court, unchallenged, in the case against four former Vanderbilt University football players charged in the rape of an unconscious 21-year-old female student on June 23, 2013. The top prosecutor later would read text messages in court that flew in the aftermath between the four and an older teammate as they scrambled to sort through the drama that had unfolded the night before.

The upperclassman later pleaded guilty to taking part in a cover-up. The four others await trial on far more serious charges: aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery and related counts.

Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey.

For two of the men, trial is set to begin Monday. A detailed narrative of what happened, and whether the men's actions fit the legal definition of forcible sex crimes, will be put before a jury. In deciding the young men's fate, the jurors will have several critical questions to answer:

Did the men plan what they did? What was the role of alcohol?

What kinds of pictures and videos did detectives find on cellphones?

And how thoroughly did Vanderbilt officials and city police investigate?

Suspicious behavior caught on dorm surveillance cameras — noticed by accident two days later — set the case in motion. The story that emerged in the days that followed rocked the university and its football program, which could still see several current and former players on the witness stand in the coming two weeks.

Yet over almost 16 months, details have only trickled out in a case in which evidence has largely been kept secret.

The picture that has emerged so far, although incomplete, shows that for many of the young adults involved, their futures are at stake.

Athletics director David Williams banned all Vanderbilt University student-athletes from the Tin Roof last summer.

What happened that weekend

By the time Brandon Vandenburg and his then-girlfriend arrived outside Gillette Hall in the early hours of Sunday, June 23, 2013, both were severely intoxicated. She was unconscious in the passenger seat of her black Mercedes. He was behind the wheel.

The pair had been drinking — he was 20 — at the Tin Roof bar, a popular spot for athletes and a place later declared off-limits by athletics department leaders who had heard reports of underage student-athletes drinking — at times for free.

As a freshman recruit at tight end, Vandenburg had been on campus and training for the season for about two weeks. Already, many now connected to the case knew one another.

According to police, testimony and court filings, Gillette Hall surveillance footage captured Vandenburg and co-defendants Brandon Banks, Cory Batey and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie carrying the limp woman to Vandenburg's second-floor room, including at least one stop when a photo was taken of her partially exposed body.

But that video wouldn't be seen for another two days.

Once inside the room, authorities said, the men allegedly raped the woman several times while Vandenburg made cellphone photos or videos that he soon shared.

Brandon Vandenburg

Defense attorneys have unsuccessfully pushed for prosecutors to spell out which acts prompted each charge — as each of the four ex-players faces five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

The disturbing particulars, as well as visual evidence, will be presented to a jury but shielded from public view during trial.

Prosecutors have previewed at least two key points: that Vandenburg didn't commit the forcible sex acts but is being charged as criminally responsible for them; and that Batey, of Nashville, was a "principal" actor.

Vandenburg, in fact, sent a text message that night — read in court by prosecutors — lamenting how his use of cocaine prevented him from physically being able to have intercourse.

The attack spilled out into the hallway, authorities said. That's where Vandenburg brought the older teammate, former star wide receiver Chris Boyd, into the fray to get the woman moved into the dorm room.

Suspicious behavior caught on surveillance cameras at Gillette Hall set the Vanderbilt University rape case in motion.

A cover-up began to take shape in those hours, authorities said, including through text messages retrieved by detectives. Police would eventually review tens of thousands of text messages and hours of surveillance video.

A few particular images from Vandenburg's phone were described in court by Metro detective Chad Gish as the "smoking gun," showing the woman being "brutally raped."

Along with interviews, the evidence fills at least six binders and more than 70 CDs and DVDs.

The aftermath

Yet in the immediate aftermath, there was no guarantee that what had happened in the dorm would ever surface.

The woman could not remember what happened — a point the men repeatedly checked on the next day, according to text messages read in court.

"She doesn't know anything that happened but she passed out in Vandenburg's bed," Boyd wrote.

Cory Batey

The men met at least once at a nearby Popeye's restaurant to plan their next steps and vowed to stay quiet. They deleted at least some photo and video evidence, authorities said. Vandenburg and two of his college friends back in California, Miles Finley and Joseph Quinzio, also would be charged with tampering with evidence.

In some ways, apparently, Vandenburg and the woman continued their relationship normally.

But other troubling behavior at Gillette Hall that same weekend had already raised concerns in the athletics department.

Former head coach James Franklin had been called back to campus from vacation. A separate inquiry led officials to the dorm's surveillance tapes on June 25.

By that evening, nine student-athletes were taken by athletics officials to the office of Gerald Black, an associate dean who oversees student misconduct at Vanderbilt.

What Black recorded in interviews that day hasn't been made public. But what he learned was given to campus policewithin hours.

The university's investigative role has been challenged in court by defense attorneys, who say it was coercive and in violation of the men's rights. Vandenburg testified that he was repeatedly threatened with the loss of his scholarship and livelihood and told that he must cooperate and answer questions or face penalties — all points denied by Franklin and Assistant Athletics Director Kevin Colon.

Judge Monte D. Watkins ruled that statements made by Vandenburg and Batey will be permitted at trial.

Hesitant victim

As in many sexual assault cases, Metro detectives who interviewed the alleged victim the next day, June 26, found her hesitant at first to undergo a medical exam and, at least initially, unconvinced that she had been sexually assaulted.

She wouldn't let police search her phone but read some messages aloud. The woman was able to delete some material that week, leading defense attorneys to charge in court that police allowed valuable evidence to get away.

Attorneys Albert Perez Jr., John Herbison and Fletcher Long talk Oct. 8, 2014, in Nashville.

In defense filings, attorneys have tried to describe a "pattern of consent" by the woman, while keying in on some of her social media postings in the aftermath of June 23. Those revelations, in defense filings, were blasted by prosecutors as a "ploy" and as an attempt to intimidate the woman before trial.

Closed court hearings have been held to lay ground rules for which sexual behaviors the attorneys can raise at trial. The judge, following the state's rape victim shield provisions, has barred much of what the defense has raised.

At some point, the woman saw the same surveillance video that alarmed campus officials.

A Davidson County grand jury indicted Vandenburg, Banks, Batey and McKenzie on Friday, Aug. 9, several weeks after the university had expelled them. A week later, Boyd and the California pair were indicted in the cover-up.

Yet the investigation continued, eventually reaching across the football program and beyond. In addition to the five charged players, five more were included on the witness list and two named in other court filings as having close contact with the woman before and after the rape. Police interviews of Franklin and at least two other coaches took place — and their text messages were sought.

Metro detective Jason Mayo testifies in a court hearing Oct. 8, 2014, in Nashville.

The woman's friends, others from the dorm, and the friends and girlfriends of others close to the case have spoken to police, too.

In court three weeks ago, the lead prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman, spoke with blunt confidence about the evidence.

"They've seen the photographs. They've seen the videos. They've heard all the witness testimony about what happened in that room," Thurman said. "They know exactly where this thing's going."

The legal battle

Yet defense attorneys — a revolving team early on, but solidified as a group of three representing Vandenburg and one for Batey — have put up a fight.

At times caustic or appealing to moral outrage of their own, attorneys Fletcher Long and John Herbison have tried to block evidence from trial, questioned police tactics, contested several courtroom procedures and pushed unsuccessfully for punishment of the prosecutors and the removal of Watkins as the judge on the case.

Although the vast majority of evidence has remained under seal because of a special protective order, various filings and testimony have allowed for some understanding of what is at stake.

But there's much more to come in what could be a two-week trial, drawing huge media attention and scrutiny.

Boyd, in pleading guilty as an accessory after the fact in September, averted trial. The state separated the cases of Banks and McKenzie, who don't yet know what comes next.

But Vandenburg and Batey — barring the possibility of one more last-minute legal argument to delay the trial — could soon learn their fates.

Assistant District Attorney Roger Moore, in court last week, remained supremely confident.

"It is fairly obvious from the proof that has been presented," Moore said, "the last thing these two defendants want is for a jury to view and hear their acts and sit in judgment of them."

Reach Tony Gonzalez at 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @tgonzalez.

Vanderbilt University student Sarah Beth O’Brien listens during a demonstration Nov. 13, 2013, at the University Sarratt Student Center.

Campus impact

While the trial is set to begin after 16 months of legal wrangling, in some ways the impact was much more swift on Vanderbilt's campus. University officials say they've made changes to make the campus safer, especially for sex assault survivors, but some questions remain.

• Federal investigators launched a review of campus policies dealing with sexual assault this spring in response to complaints by current and former students.

• This summer, the university created a stand-alone center for sexual assault education and victim resources, giving the existing Project SAFE its own four-person staff and a bigger budget.

• Student demonstrations, forums hosted by campus leaders and intense social media campaigns have made sexual assault a prominent topic on Vanderbilt's campus.

• Athletics leaders examined recruiting practices and assault prevention programs, scheduled new presentations, invited recent graduates to give talks about decision-making and met with leaders of other sexual assault prevention programs on campus and in the city.

Sentencing overview

• Aggravated rape is a class A felony carrying a penalty of 15 to 60 years. Aggravated sexual battery is a class B felony penalized by eight to 30 years. Unlawful photography is a class E felony with a possible prison term of one to six years. Tampering with evidence is a class C offense that carries a penalty of three to 15 years.

• Relatively few sex crimes end up at trial in Davidson County, according to statistics from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, for example, only 11 such cases went to trial, resulting in nine acquittals and two guilty verdicts. An additional 128 cases were resolved before trial with plea deals.

• Across the state, aggravated sexual battery convictions have led to increasingly long prison sentences in recent years, reaching an average of just more than 11 years in 2013.

• Aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery are "100 percent" crimes, meaning anyone sentenced to the 25-year maximum would serve that time in full.

• Watkins has concluded an average of 1,250 cases per year in the past four fiscal years, with an average of 23 outcomes appealed.

One trial, seven attorneys

The prosecution

Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman, known as "The Thurmanator," leads the prosecution. The county's second-in-command personally handles death penalty matters and other high-profile cases. He is known for preparedness and his ability to connect with juries — and has the convictions to prove it.

Jan Norman has been practicing and with the DA's office since 2007. She is an expert on digital evidence and focuses on cases where technology is at the forefront. She was involved in the cases of Corey Cotham, Timothy Bozza and Jose Hall, all of whom were convicted of murder.

Roger Moore has been an assistant DA since 1982, starting in Nashville in 1990. He helped win convictions against Paul Dennis Reid, Corey Radley and Robert Jason Burdick, the latter known as the "wooded rapist." He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1977.

The defense

At times, a half-dozen defense attorneys have come to court on behalf of co-defendants Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey. After some shifts, the defense is set.

Three attorneys represent Vandenburg: Clarksville attorneys Fletcher Long and John Herbison — known for taking on tough cases and aggressive rhetoric — and Calif.-based family friend Albert Perez Jr., another willing thorn in the side of prosecutors

Worrick Robinson defends Cory Batey. The Samford University law school graduate and Belmont University adjunct professor takes on civil lawsuits and criminal defense work and practices in federal district court and appeals work.