Late Friday night, a jury found former Vanderbilt University football player Cory Batey guilty on seven counts, including aggravated rape, in the assault of an unconscious woman. His punishment carries a 15- to 20-year penalty.
The Grio reports that the jury deliberated about two-and-a-half hours after hearing five days of testimony. Jurors reached their verdict about 11 p.m, and according to Tennessee law, Batey was required to be immediately taken into custody. Before being hauled away by court officers, he told his family that he loved them, and they said they loved him too.
The Tennessean notes the complete list of charges and jury verdicts for Cory Batey’s retrial:
- Count 1: aggravated rape, penetration of vagina with fingers; guilty of aggravated sexual battery
- Count 2: aggravated rape, penetration of anus with fingers; guilty
- Count 3: aggravated rape, fellatio on mouth; guilty of attempted aggravated rape
- Count 4: aggravated rape, penetration of vagina with penis; guilty of attempted aggravated rape
- Count 5: criminal responsibility for Brandon E. Banks penetrating anus with object; guilty of facilitation of aggravated rape
- Count 6: aggravated sexual battery, criminal responsibility for Banks touching genital area; guilty
- Count 7: aggravated sexual battery, Batey placing his buttocks on face; guilty
RECAP: Jury found Cory Batey guilty on seven counts including aggravated rape. It carries a 15-20 year penalty. @NC5 pic.twitter.com/UOjuGJbJMR
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) April 9, 2016
A jury last year convicted Batey and former player Brandon Vandenburg on multiple aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery charges. The verdicts were thrown out after the judge declared a mistrial once lawyers discovered that the jury foreman had been a victim of statutory rape. Check out the video report about the ruling in the clip below.
Batey’s aggravated rape conviction alone carries a prison sentence of 15- to 25-years in prison. Just like the trial last year, the retrial featured graphic images and videos of the sexual assault. The crime came to light once one of the players sent video of the assault to friends while it was happening. Police recovered additional images and videos from the players’ cell phones which showed them sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. The high-profile case brought out a slew of victim shammers and those who blamed the accuser for being so drunk that she lost control of her body and wasn’t aware that she was being assaulted by a group of horny young males.
In the final day of Batey’s trial, both the victim and Batey took the stand. The victim broke down several times during testimony while explaining to the jurors the impact the three-year-old case has had on her.
“Our first thoughts are with the victim and the incredible strength she has shown, and continues to show, both throughout the investigation and the legal proceedings,” Vanderbilt University Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Beth Fortune said in a statement. “Our heart continues to go out to her as she has endured this retrial. This case has had a lasting impact on us all.’
Twenty-two-year-old Batey cried quietly as the verdict was read. According to reports, he was charged along with three other former football players. Vandenburg is scheduled for retrial in June, and the two others charged with cases pending are Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie and Brandon E. Banks.
Since the incident in 2013, the woman has graduated from Vanderbilt, relocated out-of-state and started a doctorate program. Batey, on the other hand, got kicked off the football team, lost his scholarship to Vanderbilt, spent five months in jail and fathered a son, now 15-months-old.
After the verdict on Friday, the woman’s attorney called her a “hero” for enduring the initial trial and mistrial, and because of the separating retrials of Batey and Vandenburg, she will have to testify at least three more times.
Cory Batey’s sentencing is tentatively set for May 20.
[Image courtesy Mark Humphrey/AP Photo]
Cory Batey: Ex-Vanderbilt Football Player Found Guilty In Rape Retrial, Faces 20 Years is an article from: The Inquisitr News