Torrey Green testifies during his rape trial, Tuesday, Jan.15, 2019 in Brigham City, Utah. Green is accused of raping multiple women while he was a football player at Utah State University. (Eli Lucero/Court Pool via AP)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of Torrey Jordan Green, a former Utah State University football player who is currently serving a 26 years to life prison sentence for raping six women. The 29-year-old had argued that he had not received a fair trial in 2019.
Green’s attorneys had claimed the cases of each of the six victims were incorrectly consolidated into one case during the two week jury trial in Brigham City. They also argued the district court admitted hearsay evidence, and defense attorneys had provided ineffective counsel.
In his opinion for the court, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant wrote, “We accordingly affirm each of Mr. Green’s convictions.” He explained how the justices found no error in how the court combined the six cases into one.
Chief Justice Durrant also explained, “because the evidence against Mr. Green was overwhelming, we conclude that the district court’s errors in admitting those few statements that should have been excluded as hearsay were harmless.”
As for the argument that defense attorneys did a poor job in representing the defendant, Chief Justice Durrant wrote, “We further conclude that Mr. Green’s ineffective assistance of counsel arguments fail.”
Throughout the 10-day trial in January 2019, prosecutors described Green as a predator, whose charming appearances were deceiving. The six victims testified about being raped and assaulted during their first dates after meeting him on Tinder, a social media dating app, or on campus.
Green’s defense attorney, Skye Lazaro, had argued that her client hooked up with a lot of women while at USU but it was always consensual. She claimed the six victims reported being raped because they were upset about not getting a second date. As evidence she pointed out how they waited between three-months to more than two-and-a-half years to report their assaults to police. She also noted how prosecutors didn’t file charges until after several victims went to the media.
With the Utah Supreme Court’s decision Thursday, a final case will now move forward against Green. It involves a seventh alleged victim, who claimed she was raped while attending a party in November 21, 2015. Judge Brian Cannell previously ruled not to combine that case with the six others because of the circumstances about it. The four day jury trial will begin Sept. 25.