The sexual assault investigation that led to the dismissal of four Vanderbilt football players has taken a decisive turn down the criminal justice thoroughfares with news Friday that the players have been officially charged with the rape of an unconscious Vanderbilt student in a dorm room. Metro police have thus far collected a pile of DNA and other forensic evidence (including some particularly incriminating electronic evidence) Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson has characterized as both “compelling” and “unsettling.”
The Tennessean reported Friday that the four players directly involved with the alleged assault on an unconscious 21-year-old woman are Brandon Vandenburg, 20, Brandon Eric Banks, 19, JaBorian “Tip” McKenzie, 18, and Cory Batey, 19, of Nashville, who have each been charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg has also been charged with one count of unlawful photography and tampering with evidence. A witness list released Friday further reveals that police plan to subpoena the team’s starting quarterback, Austyn Carta-Samuels, along with four other student athletes. So far, police have only arrested Batey, and, after undergoing a state-mandated blood test for HIV, he was booked on $350,000 bail.