Jury: Brandon E. Banks guilty in Vanderbilt rape case

Show Caption Hide Caption Prosecutors discuss the verdict in the Brandon Banks rape trial Prosecutors discuss the verdict in the Brandon Banks rape trial

The jury foreman’s voice cracked and his hands shook Friday as he read the verdict. Brandon E. Banks was guilty in the rape of an unconscious woman in a Vanderbilt University dorm four years ago.

The courtroom was still.

Banks, now 23 and a former Vanderbilt University football player, took a deep breath.

The victim was stoic.

Four years. Four trials. Fifteen grueling hours of jury deliberation Thursday and Friday.

And it still is not done.

As the foreman read a slate of mixed verdicts Friday, the victim held the hand of an advocate who has been by her side each time she’s returned to court.

"I hope that other victims out there can see how strong she was,” Metro Nashville Police Detective Chad Gish said afterward.

"She is a true pillar of strength and my hero. I hope my daughter grows up as strong as she is."

Banks and three teammates were charged with seven felony counts each in the June 23, 2013 gang rape that brought the university into the national spotlight.

His defense tallied wins with five not guilty verdicts when the jury returned from a laborious, two-day deliberation about 6:45 p.m. Friday.

► FROM THE TRIAL: Detective describes images, videos of Vanderbilt rape

► MORE: Brandon Banks blames bullying for his action in Vanderbilt rape case

However, the jury found Banks guilty of counts of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery.

Banks will serve at least 15 years

Under Tennessee law, the aggravated rape count carries a minimum prison term of 15 years, up to 25. It also meant Banks, who has been out of custody and playing football at Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., was taken immediately into custody.

He looked back toward his father and friends in the courtroom.

“My heart is for my son,” Banks’ father, Maurice, said. “I hate that he’s where he is right now. Likewise that (the victim) has had to endure this as well.

“Nobody comes out of this on the positive side.”

Defense Attorney Mark Scruggs discusses the verdict in the Brandon Banks rape trial Defense Attorney Mark Scruggs discusses the verdict in the Brandon Banks rape trial

The jury’s lengthy deliberation gave Banks hope, his lawyer, Mark Scruggs, said after the verdicts. The defense had argued Banks was a victim of bullying, and when he was with his teammates in the room, he felt threatened if he didn’t take their orders.

“Brandon Banks was subject to unbearable treatment while he was at Vanderbilt,” Scruggs said. “I think the jury took that into consideration."

Banks was prepared for the verdict, the lawyer said.

"He's shocked but understands that this is only the first part of this process, there's a lot more to do from here on," Scruggs said, mentioning an appeal. "We have some really good issues to raise."

The case prompted changes at Vanderbilt

In a statement, Vanderbilt University praised the victim.

"She has shown incredible strength," the statement read. "The awareness and dialogue raised by this case continues on our campus."

The case became a flashpoint in the national conversation surrounding sexual assaults on college campuses, bringing a once-overlooked issue into the spotlight.

In the four years since the rape, Vanderbilt reshaped its approach to preventing and responding to sexual assaults, adding training, staff and other resources. Students have led the charge, pushing their peers to fight back against the longstanding scourge.

► RELATED: Defense: Man was goaded by fellow Vanderbilt teammate during rape

► MORE: Co-defendant, Banks remained friends after Vanderbilt rape case

Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman said she hopes the publicity surrounding the Vanderbilt case will propel those efforts beyond campus borders.

"There needs to be more respect for women from young men," she said. "I think that's something that definitely this case should bring to the forefront and create that conversation within people's homes and families so that hopefully we have a new generation of young kids going off to college and we can say that this will never happen again."

It happened four years ago, and a woman is still carrying the pain. Pain that was broadcast every time the case returned to the courtroom.

January 2015. April 2016. June 2016. And now, June 2017.

“They didn’t destroy her, but she’s not the same person,” Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore said in a closing argument Thursday.

Watching Moore speak, tears welled in the woman’s eyes and her lips shook.

Two men, Brandon Vandenburg, 24, and Cory Batey, 23, were previously found guilty in the case. After a mistrial in 2015 because of an issue with a juror, each man was found guilty again and is now serving more than a decade in prison.

A fourth man, Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie, 22, has pleaded not guilty, testified against his former teammates and has yet to go to trial.

Three men convicted, one yet to go to trial

According to court testimony, the woman and Vandenburg had dated a few times after the towering, 6-foot-6 tight end recruit arrived on Vanderbilt’s campus in June 2013.

One Saturday night that month, both were drinking at Tin Roof bar on Demonbreun Hill.

The last thing she remembers is a blue drink Vandenburg gave her. Six hours later, she woke up in an empty room she did not recognize.

Police discovered what happened in between.

Gish, the Nashville police detective, recovered more than 40 images and three videos of the rape, taken on Vandenburg’s, Batey’s and Banks’ cellphones.

Norman, the prosecutor, said the jury had ample evidence — including those images — that showed Banks penetrated the unconscious woman with a water bottle and touched her vagina.

On those charges, the jury on Friday found Banks guilty.

Even when he wasn’t physically participating, she said Banks aided his teammates and took pictures.

On those charges, the jury said Banks was innocent.

In every closing argument in the case, the prosecution left the jury with an emotional message. The crime happened four years ago, but its impact is lasting.

And there are only four people to blame for that, Moore said. Not a football team, not a culture of loyalty, not bullying.

“This man,” Moore told the jury Thursday, turning to Banks, “left a fellow human being like a piece of trash. Laid out like garbage.”

Banks guilty on two charges

After about 15 hours of deliberations on Thursday and Friday, a jury delivered a slate of mixed verdicts against Brandon E. Banks. They are:

Count 1: aggravated rape; not guilty

Count 2: aggravated rape; not guilty

Count 3: aggravated rape; guilty

Count 4: aggravated rape; not guilty

Count 5: aggravated rape; not guilty

Count 6: aggravated sexual battery; guilty

Count 7: aggravated sexual battery; not guilty

Banks’ sentencing is set for August.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and sbarchenger@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.