Vanderbilt Football Rape Case: Jurors Watch Surveillance Footage, But Interpretation is Key
ByHow the prosecution and defense frame surveillance footage from inside the residence hall in question in the rape trial of two former Vanderbilt football players could be an early turning point for the trial.
According to the Associated Press, jurors watched surveillance footage that reportedly showed the alleged rape victim, a female student at Vanderbilt, being carried into Gillette Hall and dragged out of an elevator.
Brandon Vandenburg and Corey Batey are on trial for aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery, as are two other former Vanderbilt football players. While all four have pled not guilty to the charges, Brandon Banks and Jaborian McKenzie are expected to testify against the other two.
Vandenburg is also facing an additional charge of unlawful photography and tampering with evidence for allegedly recording the incident and later deleting it. Another teammate of the four ex-players, Chris Boyd, was charged with conspiracy after the act, but accepted a deal for probation in exchange and his testimony.
It also appeared that two other students saw the victim being carried into the residence hall, the AP reported, though they did not call the authorities out of concern.
"To your knowledge, did she contact anyone out of concern?" defense attorney Worrick Robinson asked Vanderbilt police Lt. Donnie Harville Thursday.
"To my knowledge, no," he said of the two students who witnessed the alleged victim being carried into Gillette Hall.
The jurors also listened to testimony about a male student walking around the dorm hall naked, which the defense argued further exemplified the culture of binge drinking and sexual lewdness in place. The prosecution is essentially arguing the same thing, but that this culture is extremely dangerous, as in this case.
They said the perpetrators violated the unconscious female student with various objects while encouraging each other and laughing. If there are photos or videos from inside the dorm room on the night in question, it is not clear if the prosecution has obtained them at this time.