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Former Vanderbilt football players guilty of rape

By Aileen Graef and Danielle Haynes
Corey Batey said he was drunk out of his mind during the time of the alleged assault. Screenshot/WSMV
Corey Batey said he was drunk out of his mind during the time of the alleged assault. Screenshot/WSMV

NASHVILLE, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Two former Vanderbilt football players were found guilty Tuesday of raping a fellow student.

Corey Batey and co-defendant Brandon Vandenburg were accused of raping Vandenburg's ex-girlfriend in a dormitory on on June 23, 2013, while she was unconscious. Former teammates Brandon Banks and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, who are also charged in the rape, are still awaiting trial.

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The jury found both Batey and Vandenburg guilty of five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence and unlawful photography.

Earlier in the day, Batey testified he had no memory of the alleged assault. He said he woke up the next morning and as he was getting ready for church saw the graphic images of the victim on his phone. He then heard rumors of the rape which scared him.

"I was horrified," said Batey. "I didn't know how they got there. I didn't know what had happened to the young lady in the pictures and I immediately deleted them."

Batey did acknowledge that he called the victim an expletive for which he apologized in court.

"If anything he made himself a person and it was good for the jury to hear him and hear him apologize. All that said, I don't think the 'I don't remember' excuse is going to fly," Nashville criminal defense attorney Jim Todd told the Tennessean.

Sentencing for Batey and Vandenburg is scheduled to begin March 6.

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