Duke lacrosse accuser: Crystal Mangum, who accused three players of rape, now says she lied about the encounter

CNN
—

Crystal Mangum, the former exotic dancer who accused three Duke men’s lacrosse players of rape in 2006, igniting a national firestorm, now says she lied about the encounter.

“I gave false testimony against them by saying they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong. And I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” Mangum said on the web show “Let’s talk to Kat,” hosted by Katerena DePasquale.

The interview took place at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where Mangum is serving time for a 2013 second-degree murder conviction for stabbing his girlfriend.

“I made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God,” Mangum said.

On the podcast, she said she hopes the three men will forgive her.

“I want them to know that I love them and they didn’t deserve that and I hope they can forgive me,” she said.

Mangum’s admission comes nearly two decades after she said she was raped by former players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.

According to Duke student newspaperDuke Athletics declined to comment. The university, and the school’s president and head men’s lacrosse coach at the time, did not respond to the student newspaper’s request for comment. No comments from the players have been reported.

Party accusations and the fallout

The three were arrested following the woman’s accusations of sexual assault at a party.

The allegations brought widespread media attention, forced the cancellation of the team’s 2006 season, and cost coach Mike Pressler his job. The public prosecutor in the case was convicted of criminal contempt and disbarred.

In April 2007, then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is now governor, reviewed the case and acquitted the three men, declaring that charges should never have been brought against them.

Duke University and the three players reached an undisclosed settlement shortly after the charges were dropped.

The city of Durham settled a lawsuit by the three men in 2014. As part of the settlement, Durham agreed to pay $50,000 to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.