In her own words: Vandy rape victim describes unending pain
Published 8:29 am Wednesday, July 20, 2016
A woman who was gang-raped by football players while unconscious in a dorm room at Vanderbilt University has now testified for a fourth time in court. Cory Batey was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday after a searing 11-minute statement by the victim, who was a neuroscience and economics major when she was attacked. These are her words, as transcribed by The Associated Press.
“Thank you.
It’s hard for me to stand here on display and speak to you today about the impact this has had on my life. The thought of sharing any more of myself that hasn’t already been taken from me seems unbearable, and it goes against every instinct that I have.
I was fearful of giving a victim impact statement at all because I know that after three years and everything that has happened, I can never do it justice, and I’m scared of that failure. It will never be possible for anyone to put into words how this has affected me. And you will never understand what this has done to me if you aren’t standing in my shoes. The humiliation, the pain, the isolation, being reduced to nothing but a piece of flesh right before your eyes — it does something to you that is truly impossible to describe.