Vanderbilt player released on bond in rape case, another player and 2 Calif. Men indicted

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A fifth Vanderbilt football player has been indicted for his alleged role in the rape of an unconscious student on campus.

Metro Nashville Police say 21-year-old Chris Boyd gave another defendant advice on how to cover up the crime. Vanderbilt released a statement Friday saying he had been suspended from the team pending further review. Four other players already have been dismissed.

Police say Boyd’s representatives are aware of the indictment and he is expected to turn himself in. His bond is set at $25,000.

Boyd caught 50 passes for 774 yards and five touchdowns last season.

“All of these allegations, including those brought today, are deeply troubling, and we take them very seriously,” Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Beth Fortune said in a statement. The statement notes that none of the former players have been found guilty. It also says that Vanderbilt continues to co-operate closely with the district attorney’s office and the police.

Two California men also were indicted Friday. Nineteen-year-old Miles Finley and 20-year-old Joseph Quinzio are charged with felony tampering with evidence.

Police say Finley was arrested by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department while officers continue to search for Quinzio. Both men have been given a $150,000 bond and will be held as fugitives wanted by the state of Tennessee.

The two men are acquaintances of defendant Brandon Vandenburg, a 20-year-old former Vanderbilt player from Indio, Calif.

Vandenburg remains jailed on $350,000 bond, while three other former players have bonded out: 19-year-old Cory Batey, of Nashville, bonded out Friday; Brandon Banks, of Brandywine, Md., and Jaborian McKenzie, of Woodville, Miss., both 19, bonded out previously.

The four players were dismissed from the team on June 29 and face rape charges. Their arraignment is set for Aug. 21, although McKenzie already has pleaded not guilty and waived his right to appear at the arraignment.