Ex-Vanderbilt football player in rape case declared indigent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A former Vanderbilt football player who was convicted in the dorm room rape of a student has been declared indigent.

Brandon Vandenburg, who was once hailed as the nation's No. 1 junior college tight end, is currently jailed awaiting a June sentencing. A Nashville jury in January convicted him and former player Cory Batey of multiple counts of aggravated rape and sexual battery for the June 2013 campus assault of an unconscious female student. Two other former players are awaiting trial.

Vandenburg's family has hired East Tennessee lawyers Troy Bowlin and Randy Reagan to represent the former player. The new attorneys say Vandenburg, who is from Palm Desert, California, has no assets and no income, and the judge was right to declare him indigent.

The ruling means the state will have to cover some expenses, such as transcripts.