Brandon Vandenburg sentenced to 17 years in prison

A former Vanderbilt football player who encouraged his teammates to rape an unconscious female student has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Testimony during the trial showed that Brandon Vandenburg, who grew up in Indio, gave condoms to three of his teammates and egged them on. The 23-year-old former player also took cellphone videos of the June 2013 dorm room rape and emailed the footage to friends while the crime was ongoing.

Vandenburg had been dating the victim after arriving at Vanderbilt in the summer of 2013.

The woman, who has since graduated from Vanderbilt, did not attend the sentencing, but a prosecutor read her statement asking for the maximum sentence. Vandenburg faced 15 to 25 years in prison.

At Friday’s hearing, Vandenburg blamed alcohol but said he was ashamed of what he had done and asked for mercy.

Cory Batey, Vandenburg’s former teammate, received a 15-year sentence for his role in the rape. Charges against two other former teammates are pending.

Vandenburg was initially convicted of the crime in January 2015, but a mistrial was later declared when a juror revealed he had been the victim of statutory rape.

“I asked myself, ‘how could they do this to this young lady?” said juror Dr. Diedre Young, after the first trial. “There just can’t be enough explanation for me.”

Vandenburg also played football at College of the Desert.

Joseph Quinzio of Palm Desert and Miles Finley of Bermuda Dunes were also charged with tampering with electronic evidence as part of the case. Their childhood friend, Vandenburg, passed the incriminating photos to his friends, including a video text message. Quinzio and Finley both testified in Vandenburg’s first trial.

They claimed Vandenburg destroyed their phones, and told them to lie to police about it. They were offered plea agreements in exchange for their testimonies.