The defense attorneys for one of the four former Vanderbilt players charged with raping a 21-year-old female student in June 2013 filed a motion asking for the case to be dismissed or to have the prosecutors reprimanded for failing to preserve critical evidence, The Tennessean reports.
In the same filing, we also learned that former Vandy football coach James Franklin, who is now at Penn State, allegedly contacted the alleged victim four days after the rape.
From The Tennessean:
Referring to records, the attorneys said the victim was contacted by Franklin and Galt during a medical examination four days after the rape to explain “that they cared about her because she assisted them with recruiting.”
Franklin apparently had had a private meeting with the woman and asked her to gather 15 pretty girls to use in assisting football recruiting, even though such a practice is against the rules. Franklin justified it by saying all schools do the same thing.
The defense attorneys for Brandon Vandenburg, who along with three others is being charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery, say phone calls and text messages were not provided to them. They also say DNA test results, interviews, and some police notes and medical records were also missing from the evidence.
Vandenburg is also being charged with one count of unlawful photography and tampering with evidence. One of the former players, Chris Boyd, has pleaded guilty to attempting to cover up the rape and will testify against his former teammates.
