NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Latest on the Vanderbilt rape trial (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
An ex-Vanderbilt football player says that when his teammates said they wanted to have sex with an unconscious woman, he was going to leave the dorm room — but they told him he wasn’t going anywhere.
Brandon Banks’ testimony Wednesday suggested he was bullied and intimidated into his role in the 2013 rape of the female student.
Banks testified that his teammates had long made fun of him because he was small, and thought he was gay because he always was on the phone with his girlfriend and didn’t often talk to other women.
Banks said that before the assault, the young woman was on the floor vomiting. He said she needed to go to the hospital, and another teammate called him names and told him to take pictures of her.
Another teammate has said Banks assaulted her with a water bottle.
—
11:50 a.m.
A woman who was raped while unconscious in a college dorm room has testified that her appearance at an ex-Vanderbilt football player’s trial marks the first time she has seen the defendant face to face.
The visibly shaken woman at times cried while testifying Wednesday in Brandon Banks’ trial. She told prosecutors she had only seen Banks’ image in the collection of evidence.
Amid multiple court proceedings against other defendants, the woman has testified five times about the 2013 rape.
Two other ex-players were convicted and sentenced to prison after jury trials. A fourth ex-player charged in the incident has testified against his teammates.
Banks is charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The 23-year-old has pleaded not guilty. He’s expected to testify.
25% Bonus via Western Union
