Gang rape uncovered via investigation into broken door

  • 21/06/2016
(YouTube)
(YouTube)

At first it seemed like nothing more than a mindless prank, but it unravelled as something far more sinister.

When University staff discovered what appeared to be a kicked-in door in a dorm at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee back in 2013 -- they notified campus police who began to look for the prankster.

However, according to News.com.au, as police filtered through CCTV footage they uncovered what appeared to be a group of football players from the university dragging a lifeless female body through hallways toward a dorm room where they would gang rape her.

The rape was so horrific, it involved the use of water bottles, physical assaults and urination -- and now, three years to the day, a US jury has convicted Brandon Vandenburg, a prized athlete at the university and former boyfriend of the victim for encouraging and orchestrating his teammates to rape the unconscious woman.

Gang rape uncovered via investigation into broken door

Brandon Vandenburg (Reuters)

In only four hours of deliberation, the jury found Vandenburg guilty on multiple counts of aggravated rape and sexual battery, and in addition to that, he was also convicted on one count of unlawful photography.

According to News.com.au, Vandenburg had met the 21-year-old victim only two weeks before the rape at a recruitment day for the university. The two began to date and on the night of the assault the woman had met up with Vandenburg for a drink at a local bar.

The last thing she can remember was sipping a blue drink.

She awoke the next morning lying next to Vandenburg, with no recollection of what had occurred and according the victim's statement in court; he told her he'd spent all night taking care of her.

It was a lie that Vandenburg persisted with until rumours began to swirl about the fateful night, telling his victim via text he'd never let anything bad happen to her.

When he was questioned by police however, his story twisted and he began to claim the woman had been sexually assaulted in front of him.

The CCTV footage showed another side of the story, and the prosecution told the court it showed Vandenburg and three of his teammates, Cory Batey, Brandon Banks and Jaborian McKenzie, lying the victim face down on a tiled floor in his dorm room.

Vandenburg then put on an adult film while the other men continued to assault their victim for 30 minutes, before they urinated on her.

According news.com.au, court evidence then stated Mckenzie and Banks had begun to panic and they'd flushed their used condoms down the toilet, destroyed photographs and footage and smashed a mobile phone before throwing it into a lake.

Vandenburg now faces 15 to 25 years in jail, while Banks and Mckenzie are yet to face trial.

Newshub.