Mistrial in Vanderbilt rape case because juror was once raped
A Tennessee judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in a rape case against two former Vanderbilt University football players because a juror had failed to disclose that he was himself a rape victim, according to court documents.
Judge Monte Watkins set aside the January verdict against Cory Batey, 21, and Brandon Vandenburg, 22, who were convicted of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery for an assault on an unconscious female student. Watkins said a new trial was necessary.
“Our system of justice cannot tolerate a trial with a tainted juror regardless of the strength of the evidence against the defendant,” Watkins wrote in his ruling.
Prosecutors had accused four Vanderbilt players of raping the woman in June 2013, an assault they said was proved by what the defendants recorded on a cellphone. The prosecution came at a time of heightened scrutiny of sexual assault on campus.
Prosecutors had argued that the juror did not see himself as a victim in that case, which involved a consensual sexual relationship with an adult male when he was a teenager.
The other two former Vanderbilt players, Brandon Banks and Jaborian McKenzie, are awaiting trial.