Friday (July 15) saw the sentencing of a former Vanderbilt player who was convicted of rape and sexual battery in 2013.

As reported, Cory Batey was convicted during a retrial on April 8 earlier this year, and yesterday was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with the judge offering him the minimum sentence for his crimes. 

Batey and three other ex-Vanderbilt players were initially found guilty on January 27, 2015 of sexually assaulting an unconscious 21-year-old. The case was later thrown out when a juror failed to disclose that he himself was a victim of statutory rape and therefore was biased. The case was later retried, finding Batey guilty of the allegations against him.

“In this age of technology, anyone I ever meet in my personal or professional life can learn I am a rape victim and the details of the case before I’ve even fully introduced myself to them,” the victim read in a statement prior to the sentencing. “The thought of sharing any more of myself that hasn’t already been taken from me seems unbearable, and it goes against every instinct I have.”

The statement shared how being a victim of the rape still affects her daily life, recalling some of the details of the attack prior to the sentencing being read.

“Mr. Batey continued to abuse and degrade me, urinating on my face while uttering horrific racial hate speech that suggested I deserved what he was doing to me because of the color of my skin,” the victim, whose name has not been disclosed, said during the sentencing. “He didn’t even know who I was.”

Batey also had his turn to address the court, and pleaded with the judge to grant him the minimum sentence, saying he wants to be in his son's life after serving his sentence.

“I hope that if not today maybe one day you would find it in your heart to forgive me for any damages I may have caused,” Batey said in his statement to the court, referring to the rape as an “unintentional tragedy.”

Monte Watkins, the judge overseeing the case, shared that it was the saddest one he’s encountered during his 32-year long career.

“All of the defendants in this case basically have life sentences,” he told the Tennessean. “After they get out of jail or prison they will be on the sex-offender registry for the rest of their lives. That’s a life sentence in and of itself.”