Former Vanderbilt player sentenced to 15 years for dorm rape

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Vanderbilt football player was sentenced today to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of taking part in the gang rape of an unconscious female student.

Judge Monte Watkins of Davidson County Criminal Court handed down the sentence for Cory Batey after the victim in the case said her life has been shattered as a result of the rape.

The woman was a neuroscience and economics major when she was assaulted in a dorm on the Nashville campus in June 2013. In all, four former football players were charged. The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault.

The players used their cellphones to take pictures of the rape. One also videoed it and sent the footage to friends as it was happening.

The victim said she learned of what happened to her when detectives showed her the graphic images retrieved from the phones.

During her victim impact statement, she described the horror she felt seeing the images of herself.

"I've seen with my own eyes what I was when Mr. Batey was done with me: a piece of trash, face down in a hallway, covered in his urine and palm prints, a photograph he took himself," the woman said. "There are no words to describe the horror of the images from that night and how it feels to watch yourself be dehumanized."