the alcohol-fuelled sex crime on a Nashville college campus. My immediate reaction was, 'Whoa.' Like, 'What happened to you?' The victim so drunk she can't remember; I can't tell. Is that me? the attack recorded instead of reported. This blows your mind how graphic and depraved it is. A crime that would have gone undetected if it weren't for shocking surveillance footage and the cell phone videos shared with friends. About a half dozen individuals didn't intervene. < You didn't report it to any soul on earth, did you? I did not. The secret these college footballers thought they could hide inside dorm room 213. Copyright Able 2015 Kia ora. I'm Sonya Wilson. This week ` the crime that's making headlines all over again in the States. The college football stars convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in a dorm room at one of America's most prestigious schools. Tonight, 20/20 goes inside the police investigation and the trial, revealing the confronting videos that cracked the case open. And the surprising new developments that mean this story's not over. It begins on a balmy night in June. Brandon Vandenburg, the nation's number one junior college tight end, is drinking with the victim at a popular bar, the Tin Roof. She's 21, he's 20 and the prized athlete of Vanderbilt's recruiting class. Brandon had it all. Fletcher Long is Brandon's attorney. When did they first meet? On his recruiting visit, which... I don't think they had known each other for more than a couple of weeks when the event occurred. And now that he's there, Brandon and the young girl science student are having nights like this one. Both had been drinking earlier with friends before meeting up. At the bar, the booze is flowing. The victim recalls a cinnamon whisky shot, a gin and tonic, and a California Long Island iced tea. People have been drinking on college campuses for decades. These are young adults. They leave the bar together in the early morning hours, and the evening of casual fun moves to a new venue ` his dorm. By the next morning, a sore body and a serious hangover are the only evidence of a night of excess. She woke up; she didn't know what happened. And that's where the story might have ended, were it not for this broken door. It's an unrelated act of vandalism that occurred over the weekend. When a maintenance worker alerts campus cops about it on Monday, they go to the surveillance video, looking for a culprit. What they find instead is a Vanderbilt video like no other. They were reviewing hours and hours when they found, obviously, some alarming footage. Tony Gonzalez is a reporter for The Tennessean, Nashville's paper of record. When the car pulled up outside of the dorm and the young woman was unconscious, essentially, Brandon Vandenburg asked for help to move her into the dorm. June 23rd, 2.32am. While a police cruiser sits off in the near distance, the 20-year-old football player carries the young woman out of her black Mercedes Benz and into Gillette dorm. ABC News is blurring the image to protect the victim. Brandon and his three Commodore compatriots laughing and smiling. These were all members of the football team at that time. They all knew each other at least a little bit. What's your interpretation of what he's doing at that point? There's no indication that there was any nefarious intent to get her to the room. There are students all over Gillette circle; they've seen him walking into the front lobby of Gillette. Nobody says boo. In many ways, for you, it's not uncommon that these four young men would carry her upstairs and no one would say a thing? It didn't appear uncommon to any resident of Gillette Hall. Then at 2.35am, the woman is dragged out of the elevator and dumped on to the hallway floor. Cell phone pictures are taken of her as she lays on the ground. One student moves in for a close-up. She's then moved down the hall and into room 213. It looked like they were carrying a dead body down the hall. The surveillance footage shows that in those` the next half hour or so, um, the young woman ended up back out in the hallway. She was moved, she was dropped. Shortly after 3am, the victim has been inside room 213 for nearly a half an hour with four men, and a fifth who claims to have been sleeping. Brandon, now wearing red shorts, walks out with a towel in his head, and in a damning move, throws it over a surveillance camera. Later, all the players involved exit the room, and in fact, some exit the floor entirely, leaving Brandon to figure out what to do next. He makes a phone call to other teammates, and they run to his rescue. They were in complete cover-up mode. Campus cops are in the area, but they're investigating another matter. They have 1200 cameras all over the campus, with apparently no one watching on the other end. What happened when they saw this footage? What did authorities do next? As I understand it, an investigation began immediately on campus. That involved athletic staff, it involved the deans and other campus staff. And very quickly the city police got involved. That's where Detectives Chad Gish and Jason Mayo of Nashville Police come in. At the time, she knew absolutely nothing. She knew she had gone out with friends the night before, and that's it. Typically, in a case where the victim doesn't remember an alleged sexual assault, you can have a really tough time getting a conviction. Detectives know something went on in room 213. They just don't know what. And they have yet to determine if Brandon Vandenburg was the victim's protector or predator. In her heart, at that time, she truly believed that Brandon Vandenburg would never let anything happen to her. Obviously you know why you're here today. When we return ` inside the interrogation room. A battle for the truth. Then a second video surfaces, and even grizzled detectives are stunned. It was atrocious. I tried my best to describe the images, but there's no words for it. Stay with us. Welcome back. So campus police have stumbled upon a suspicious surveillance video inside a Nashville University. It shows four football players dragging an unconscious woman into a dorm room. She has no memory of even being there and doesn't initially believe she was assaulted. But what actually happened? Typical college high jinks or a crime? Campus police go to the pros ` digital forensics investigator Chad Gish and sex-crimes detective Jason Mayo of the Metro Nashville Police. Mayo parades a who's who of Vanderbilt students in for questioning, beginning with the 21-year-old woman in the video. The honours students has no memory of what happened after fireball shots and mixed drinks at the Tin Roof bar and no recall of any assault. I'd never investigated an adult case where the victim didn't already at least suspect something. In their first meeting with the victim, Detective Mayo shows her screen grabs from the surveillance video. In addition to blurring the video, 20/20 is altering the young woman's voice. I can't tell... Is that me? Yeah. That is you. Now, when you woke up the next morning, you had no... There was no pain? I didn't have any pain. Nothing that would make you think that anything took place during the night? I felt really hungover, but I wasn't in any pain that'd make me think I'd been assaulted. But detectives still suspect foul play. Next step ` identifying the four Vanderbilt football players seen in the video. At the centre of the storm ` new recruit Brandon Vandenburg. With him are his teammates, 19-year-old Brandon Banks, 19-year-old Nashville native Cory Batey, and 18-year-old sophomore Jaborian 'Tip' McKenzie. All four were seen entering dorm room 213 with the woman, staying inside for 30 minutes. Two days after the alleged incident, all four meet again at a restaurant. Detectives think it's so they can get their stories straight. Brandon Banks is called up, but he's not biting. Mayo also questions other players who were not in the room but seen in the hallways of the dorm that night. They tell consistent accounts of seeing the unconscious co-ed. What position was she in when you saw her? She was passed out. Basically, like, her shirt was` Crumpled up. ...scrunched up. Yes, sir, like that here. And then there was a bunch of different, like, stuff flying around the team, saying, like, they did this to her and they did that to her. It was just the most, like, disturbing thing I'd ever heard. Jake Burnstein, a football player and the victim's ex-boyfriend, is appalled. That's when I told her. I was, like, 'Something happened to you this weekend, babe. 'You may have not recollected.' But during her interview with police, the victim seems to be giving Brandon the benefit of the doubt. My feeling is that Brandon didn't do anything. I'm really concerned that... I think he was just trying to help me, and I feel like he's getting in trouble for trying to help me. < She didn't believe at that point she'd been raped? No. She's` Her` In her heart, at that time, she truly believed that Brandon Vandenburg would never let anything happen to her. Nashville police have a problem. Surveillance video and interviews have led detectives to suspect rape. But they have no physical proof, no DNA and no suspects coming forward with a confession. But a breakthrough is imminent, thanks to an admission by a couple of other players on the team. They've seen video from a cell phone of what took place inside that room. What did you see in the video? I noticed somebody laying there. It looked like a girl was laying on the ground. Finding the videos now the key to the case. Police seize the phones and computers from the four men in the room. And it reveals a treasure trove of text messages, like this one from Cory Batey to a friend a day and a half after the incident. And this one: And Gish finds incriminating Google searches on Brandon Vandenburg's phone. 'Can police retrieve deleted picture messages?' Brandon has reason to worry. He knows that during the attack, he sent videos to two close friends back in his hometown of Palm Desert, California. Four weeks after the incident, the detectives are on a plane. First up ` Joey Quinzio, one of Brandon's best friends since age 13. MAN: Brandon sent you some text messages and a video. Did you watch the video that he sent to you? I didn't. You didn't? No? OK. But friend Miles Finley reluctantly admits he's seen it. The video I got was just of this black dude playing with the girl on the floor. Playing with a girl on the floor? How? What were they playing? Uh, doing stuff between her legs. After seeing the video, Finley warns Brandon in a text. Then some repulsive advice: Why did you say that? I wasn't being serious. Police say that what Brandon and his friends did next was an attempted cover up. Finley claims he dropped his phone in a pool. It was cracked, and, you know, time for a new iPhone. Quinzio claims his phone was stolen. OK, did you report your phone stolen to Apple so they could shut it down? No. But it didn't matter. Police find those elusive videos after all, backed up on Quinzio's hard drive. His phone automatically synced the video to his computer. It's the nail in the coffin. Hardest thing I've probably ever had to look at. And, um, I knew right then that all of the pieces were falling into place. There she is, being raped. The video showed Brandon Banks taking intimate and inappropriate photos of her body and Banks and Cory Batey using their hands and even a water bottle to penetrate her. And according to investigators, Brandon Vandenburg is heard callously giggling and egging the others on. All along, the four players have stuck to their plan ` deny, deny, deny. But what they don't know ` players are turning on each other. Tip McKenzie has caved, and he's pointing the finger at his best friends, Corey Batey and Brandon Banks. Corey Batey approached the girl first. Saw it as if` as a joke. He's really clowning. He's drunk. He's like, 'Hey, man, get this on camera.' He's messing with the girl, his hands are down there, like, he's touching her in, you know, a sexual way. What was Banks doing? Banks had the bottle. If I'm understanding right, the only people who did anything to her, either with a bottle or their hands, are Batey and Banks. Yes, ma'am. Did Vandenburg ever touch her? Participate in the clowning, touching her, anything like that? I really don't think so. I'm not` I'm not sure, but as` Like, I don't think he did. That interview and the videos ` it's more than enough for prosecutors to make a case. Once we saw the evidence, we were just appalled. Vanderbilt has already kicked the four players off the football team and out of school. On August 9th, less than two months after the incident, they are charged with rape. Today marked day one of the trial. Next ` the trial; contentious moments in court; a controversial defence; Just blame it on the alcohol, correct? and one of the defendants takes the stand and makes a shocking admission. Um... Um... Stay with us. Judgement day has finally arrived for Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg. The pair on trial for aggravated rape inside a dorm room. Co-defendants Tip McKenzie and Brandon Banks set to be tried at a later date. Vanderbilt student after student took the stand to testify. < At any time did you attempt to speak to her? No, sir. < Or at any time did you check on her welfare? No, sir. No one alerted anyone, not even the victim's roommate, Lauren Miller, who noticed something odd the morning after the incident. < So when you came outside, your best friend, she was on the lawn, and her car is gone? Correct. < And so you called the police? I did not call the police. I didn't report it because I didn't have a concern at the time. But once Lauren saw her later that day, red flags went up. When I first saw her, it was... my immediate reaction was, 'Whoa.' Like, 'What happened to you?' She even took a photo of what looked like injuries on her friend's buttocks. You can clearly see some bruising on the butt cheek, along with some red handprint` Well, what appears to be some sort of imprint on her butt. This was also part of my exhibit 2C, the... After days of listening to others talk about her, the victim herself testifies. 20/20 is altering her voice. Did you finish the blue drink? I don't remember finishing it. > What's the next thing that you remember? I remember waking up in an unfamiliar room at 8 something the next morning. > In a fog, she texts Brandon Vandenburg to fill in the blanks. In Brandon's version, he's the knight in shining armour. What did he tell you? I had gotten sick in his room and he had to spend all night taking care of me and that it was horrible. > I apologised. I was embarrassed. > The pair meet up later that day. How was he treating you? He was being extremely kind. Nicer than usual. > What happened next? He kissed me. > Then, um, he initiated intercourse. > And how long did that last? A few seconds. > What the victim is never told by Brandon was that he and three others were involved in her sexual assault and videotaped the encounter to share with friends. Two months later, the victim will learn exactly how and who inflicted that pain when she watches the videos. Are you able to identify yourself? That was me. > The video you did view ` it did have audio also? It did. > Did you hear a voice? I heard a voice I recognised. > And whose voice did you hear on the video? Brandon Vandenburg. > The horrific laughing with Brandon Vandenburg, and just the awful, degrading tone that they were using. Brandon's not laughing any more. He's watching stoically as his childhood best friends from California testify against him about trying to cover up the cell phone video. Joey Quinzio saying he was pressured by Brandon to lie to police. I believe I was being coerced. < WOMAN: By who? Mr Vandenburg and his attorney. And Miles Finley saying Brandon destroyed evidence. < MAN: Did he tell you what happened to your cell phone? Yes. < What did he say happened? He said he smashed it and threw it in the lake. He shouldn't have taken those photographs, he shouldn't have sent those photographs. That is what he did. What he shouldn't have to take responsibility for is what he didn't do. But for Cory Batey, the defence is tougher. Remember, he was seen on video touching the victim. So his legal team throws a Hail Mary and calls Cory himself to testify, something defendants rarely do. Cory estimates he had between 14 and 22 alcoholic drinks that night. < MAN: What if any recollection today do you have of that event? N-None at all. But then a stunning admission by the 20-year-old defendant. I was just drunk` drunk out of my mind. Uh, this is something I would, uh, never do in my` my right state of mind. Uh... Uh... I'm just sorry. < Do you take responsibility for your conduct? (SIGHS) After seeing the footage, I` I do. Uh, it was me. And then he tries to speak directly to the victim. I would just like to extend a personal apology to Ms <BLEEP>. After 12 days and 25 witnesses, prosecutors and attorneys for the two football players accused of raping a fellow Vanderbilt student making their final pitches to the jury. He is laughing hysterically. You see him pull his phone out of his pocket because he's gonna take a video of this ` this is so funny. But Brandon isn't laughing in court. He sits stone-faced as prosecutors present the laundry list of charges against him. Five counts of aggravated rape, unlawful penetration, aggravated sexual battery, tampering with evidence. He took photographs that he never should have taken. He exercised judgement that was deplorable. He at least had the sense in the aftermath to be upset by it. TENSE MUSIC After three hours of deliberation, the jury decides the fate of the two young men. FOREMAN: In regards to Mr Vandenburg, um, count one ` we find Mr Vandenburg guilty of aggravated rape. MAN: Oh! > An outcry from Brandon Vandenburg's father. His son's promising football career lost, along with his freedom. Cory Batey, on this, his 21st birthday, hangs his head as the jury foreman reads: Guilty of aggravated rape, guilty of attempted aggravated rape, guilty of aggravated sexual battery. I quickly realised that in such a short period of time, so many young lives were utterly devastated. We spoke to three jurors the day after the verdicts. I asked them about that cell phone video. You all have seen something that I have not seen, and that is that video. Tell me what your feelings were... when they played that video for you. Horrified. Horrified and utterly disgusted. Of` Of course there's an emotional reaction the first` the first time you see it. It sort of blows your mind how` how graphic and depraved it is. I-I'm curious to know ` the people that we saw in the surveillance video that saw that victim totally unconscious, being carried down the hall to that room ` most of the people that saw her ` what are they thinking now? We are civilised human beings, and the rules and responsibilities of living in a society ` that you look out for your fellow men. Three lives converged that night of June of 2013. Brandon Vandenburg ` the football recruit from Palm Desert, California, hoping to break into pro sports; Cory Batey ` the accomplished Tennessee native and the pride of his family; and the bright, beautiful neuroscience major who was their victim. All of them forever changed in a single night. DRAMATIC MUSIC Now, Vandenburg and Batey were found guilty in January, but the victim's ordeal isn't over. The two football players have just been released from jail after a judge declared the trial invalid. It was revealed one of the jurors withheld the fact that he'd been a victim of sexual assault himself, raising doubts about his impartiality. Now, that means the trial will be heard all over again with a new jury. Well, that's our show for tonight. Thanks so much for joining us.