Lawyers want guilty verdict in Vanderbilt rape trial tossed
Lawyers for former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Vandenburg plan on filing a motion seeking to have the guilty verdict against their client thrown out after learning one juror did not disclose they were a victim of sexual violence, reports JRN.com.
Vandenburg and former teammate Cory Batey were found guilty of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery after a female student was raped inside a Vanderbilt dorm room in 2013. Vandenburg was also found guilty of evidence tampering and unlawful photography.
According to the report, a juror in the trial failed to disclose during the jury selection process that they were raped nearly 20 years ago.
"It would've been useful to know this information in a case that had some of the same types of scenarios and allegations to which [the juror] had been a victim. It’s incredible they didn’t think that information was warranted," Vandenburg’s lawyer Fletcher Long said.
Davidson County, Tenn. District Attorney Glenn Funk said that the new evidence should not be enough to overturn the verdict.
"I expect the defense to argue over anything but I do not think this would disturb the verdict in any way," Funk said.
Batey and Vandenburg will be sentenced on March 6 and face decades behind bars. Two other Vanderbilt players Jaborian McKenzie and Brandon Banks also face charges in the assault, but no trial date has been set.
- Scooby Axson
