Tony Martin Patillo, the man charged in the rape and sodomy of an Auburn University student in fall 2017, has been found guilty on all three charges.
The jury convicted Patillo of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy charges. He was also found guilty of a misdemeanor public lewdness charge.
"When we try these cases, any cases, really, you put so much into it, getting it prepared, getting it read," said District Attorney Brandon Hughes. "It's a big relief to be done with it. But to do so, and get as-charged — rape one, sodomy one, two [Class] A felonies — that's huge."
The jury will have the option to consider lesser charges including attempted rape, but chose to go with the most severe charges.
Prosecutors said Patillo raped the student while on the bus and continued to assault her on the side of the road near Aspen Heights, where witnesses saw them and reported the incident to police.
The victim took the stand Wednesday. The prosecution questioned several witnesses and presented videos from the bus on which the assault allegedly occurred, but the defense rested without calling any witnesses.
Prosecutors said the student, who is not being named by The Plainsman, was intoxicated and unable to consent to any sexual contact.
Patillo's defense attorney, Jon Carlton Taylor, attempted to argue there was no evidence Patillo raped the victim and that any oral sex — for which Patillo faces the sodomy count — was consensual.
The prosecution refuted the defense's arguments.
The district attorney quoted words from Patillo in one of the video recordings from the bus. In one of the videos, Patillo can be heard saying the victim is "knocked out."
"If somebody is 'knocked out,' then they are physically helpless," Brandon Hughes said.
The conviction comes after a week of testimony. The deliberated for several hours on Friday, and met again Monday morning at 8 a.m. They took about two hours Monday to reach a verdict.
The jury had to restart deliberations after one juror was unable to make it to the judicial center because of the tornadoes in Lee County. An alternate took her place.
"We were convinced from day one when we first heard about this case, that rape one and sodomy one were the appropriate charges," Brandon Hughes said. "While attempted rape was probably considered, if I had to guess based on some of the questions from the jury, at the end of the day, they certainly got it out and credit to them for sticking it out."
The district attorney said this verdict should be a reassurance to Auburn students that the criminal justice system will work to keep them safe.
"The Auburn Police Department, I cannot overstate the job they did in investigating this case," Brandon Hughes said. "There was just so much going on that could have gotten in the way of solving this case. They were on the scene immediately. Their officers did an absolutely fantastic job when they made contact with the defendant in this case on the side of the road with not letting him out of his story and just pressing him."
And the verdict is a victory for the rule of law, Brandon Hughes said.
"I anticipated this verdict because I feel like the rule of law still means something in Lee County," Brandon Hughes said. "If you want to engage in this type of behavior or any type of criminal behavior in Lee County, the police are going to get you, we're going to prosecute you, and the jury is going to hold you accountable."
Patillo will be sentenced on April 24 at 4 p.m. in Circuit Judge Christopher Hughes' courtroom. He faces a minimum of 10 years for the charges.
"I'm going to be asking for life sentences on those cases," the district attorney said. "Without equivocation, that's what we're asking for."
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
