Vandenburg released on bond after judge grants mistrial

The rape case at Vanderbilt University involving a former local football player has taken a new turn as a judge granted a mistrial on Tuesday.

Indio native Brandon Vandenburg, along with his co-defendant Cory Batey, have been awaiting sentencing after being found guilty in 2013. They have now been released on bond.

Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins ruled in favor of defense attorneys who said a juror intentionally withheld information that he was a rape victim during the jury selection process.

The juror, 31-year-old Todd Easter, testified during a hearing last week that he didn’t withhold information because he doesn’t consider himself a victim. A Sumner County man was convicted of raping Easter when he was 16. However, Easter testified that his relationship with the man was consensual and that his parents were the ones who pressed charges.

A Nashville jury convicted the former Vanderbilt players in January of multiple counts of aggravated rape and sexual battery for the June 2013 campus assault of an unconscious female student.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will keep you updated as the case moves forward in court.