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2 more former Vanderbilt football players facing rape charges

Two former Vanderbilt University football players are facing decades in prison after being convicted of raping an unconscious student in a dorm room, and now all eyes are focused on the two other suspects in the case.

Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey were both found guilty on Tuesday of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence and unlawful photography.

Two of their teammates, Brandon Banks and Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie, were also allegedly in the dorm room when the rape and assault occurred in Gillette Hall in the early morning hours of June 23, 2013.

Both are charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. A trial date has not been set.

McKenzie took the stand during the trial for Vandenburg and Batey and admitted that he made a pact with the three other defendants to lie and cover up the alleged assault.

He testified he did not touch the woman and only took a photo when he was asked to.

McKenzie said during the trial that he was close friends with Batey and Banks in June 2013.

“We was like brothers, we was all best friends. Wherever you saw one of us, you would see all of us,” he said.

Banks and McKenzie were roommates in Gillette Hall.

When asked during the trial if he lied during interviews with investigators, McKenzie replied, “It’s hard to tell on your brother when something like that happens. Yes, I lied.”

Channel 4’s legal analyst Jim Todd weighed in on what the verdicts for Vandenburg and Batey could mean for Banks and McKenzie.

“I think they now know what could happen to them, and I think that they’re more than likely going to want to strike a plea deal. I don’t think the state is going to offer them a plea deal that doesn’t carry a prison sentence. Whether or not their attorneys can convince them, after seeing what happened to these two individuals, that it’s in their best interest to go ahead and plea and do a lesser sentence, is yet to be determined,” Todd said.

The next court appearances for Banks and McKenzie are on March 6, the same day of the sentencing hearing for Vandenburg and Batey.

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