Relationships July 6, 2017
There's a lot.
What happened in the Vanderbilt rape case? It’s been in the news for over four years and you, like many others, may be wondering why.
Back in 2013, a 21 year-old neuroscience major at Vanderbilt University was sexually assaulted by not one, not two, not three, but four football players while she lay unconscious in a dorm room. Three of the football players have been convicted (one as recently as June 2017) and one still awaits trial.
Which is why the Vanderbilt rape case still isn’t over and continues to dominate headlines four years later.
So here’s everything you need to know about it.
One night Brandon Vandenburg, a then-member of the Vanderbilt football team, called upon teammates Cory Batey, Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie and Brandon Banks to aid him in transporting an unconscious woman to his room. McKenzie later testified that once they all arrived in the dorm room Vandenburg said, “We’re going to fuck this bitch,” as he handed out condoms. So naturally, that’s what they all did. But hey, at least they used condoms right?
In other words, the Vanderbilt rape case started with a disgustingly despicable sexual assault. One that could have been prevented if even just ONE of the four men had a brain (or a conscience).
The four defendants in the Vanderbilt rape case made sure to document their gang rape with both pictures and videos (which, of course, the four men later tried to delete). But recovered footage from cell phones was presented in court and security cameras caught very disturbing footage of the moments leading up to, and after, the attack.
These weren’t just innocent bystanders who witnessed the various stages of the horrific crime. They were involved.
One was even a direct enabler. Mack Prioleau, Vandenburg’s roommate, was literally in the room during the gang rape, on the top bunkbed. Awake. And what did he do? Nothing. That is, during the rape.
“I was scared and uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do,” Prioleau said during his 2015 testimony. Isn’t it interesting that he felt that way and did absolutely nothing as a BYSTANDER? Maybe he didn’t consider how the victim being gang raped would be feeling in the same moment, or how she would feel in the future.
After the rape though, Prioleau proved to be incredibly helpful to his rapist friends. He urged them to delete all evidence and even cleaned the room of the victim’s vomit and other liquids. Then, he went on his merry way.
What was the punishment Prioleau received?
One year of unsupervised probation, which, if completed, will leave his record squeaky clean. Seems fitting as an accessory to a horrific crime, doesn’t it?
There were also friends of Vandenburg who knew of the crime. And other people saw the unconscious victim lying outside of the dorm room, as the four men left her there after the rape.
Oh wait. Correction. Two of these bystanders did actually do something. Teammates Chris Boyd and DeAndre Woods, took it upon themselves to move the victim back into Vandenburg’s room. But that was it.
What do all of these people have in common? They did nothing. They didn’t report it. They didn’t call for an ambulance. They didn’t help the young woman. They did nothing.
If this doesn’t piss you off, there’s probably something wrong with you.
First, Vanderbilt University dismissed all four attackers from the football team and suspended them. So that was good.
But the students who helped in covering up the attack are still students. That’s really scary.
Just a mere four years after the attack the third defendant was finally convicted.
According to reports, it allegedly took 16 hours of deliberation, over two days, to find Brandon Banks guilty of one count of aggravated rape and one count of aggravated sexual battery. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Vandenburg is currently serving 17 years and Batey’s serving 15 years as well. But that’s not all.
Jaborian McKenzie, the fourth and last garbage human still has yet to be tried and he’s pleading not guilty. Oh, please.
Jaborian McKenzie is also charged in the case. He is out on bond & is a student at Alcorn State University https://t.co/nIRHEe6pNJ pic.twitter.com/7beac2fKuI
— WSMV-TV, Nashville (@WSMV) June 20, 2017
So far the rate of this case is under one rapist per year.
That’s what the victim said when she testified against Corey Batey.
This raises a few questions. Why is the justice system designed to take so long when convicting defendants who are clearly guilty?
Can no one come up with a more efficient process that considers the well-being of the victim?
One thing is clear: The Vanderbilt rape case is a prime example of the rape culture that still persists in this country. Men don’t think there’s anything wrong with violating their “friends” and they’re too “afraid” to stand up for women. Bystanders do nothing. And women are still the majority of rape victims.
We all need to SPEAK UP about rape culture. We need to talk about it with our friends, colleagues and peers – men and women alike. Friends don’t let friends play fast and loose with consent. And men specifically need to start forgoing their stupid “bro code” to do what is right.
Changing rape culture means changing society, and we can do it, starting now.
Take the fire you’re feeling about this case and channel it into something good.
