Woman Who Accused Three Lacrosse Players of Rape at Fraternity Party Admits She Lied

A woman who lied about being raped of three lacrosse players when she attended Duke University, has admitted to making up the story for the first time.

Crystal Mangum’s claim that she was raped at a fraternity party in 2006 sparked a national media storm after Rolling Stone, the New York Times and other major US publications covered the case.

On Friday, nearly 20 years after the claim was proven false, she said she had “made up a story that wasn’t true” in an interview with the podcast Let’s Talk with Kat.

Mangum, who is black, initially said she was raped by three white lacrosse players at a party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper. The allegations sparked a widespread debate about ‘frat boy’ culture, racism and sexual violence on American college campuses.

“I testified falsely against them by saying they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong,” the 46-year-old said in the interview.

The interview was recorded last month at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where Mangum is incarcerated for fatally stabbing his girlfriend in 2011.

David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were arrested after Mangum made sexual assault allegations.

The allegations immediately made national headlines, forcing the university to cancel its lacrosse season and cost Mike Pressler, their coach, his job.

In addition to coverage in the New York Times, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated, five segments on the widely watched “60 Minutes” were also devoted to the case.

One of the most significant media articles released at the time of the allegations was “Sex & Scandal at Duke,” an article of nearly 6,000 words published in Rolling Stone magazine.

The piece saw a reporter visit the Duke University campus just a month after the allegations, joining hundreds of reporters camped out in the North Carolina city of Durham.

Students at Duke University at the time were engulfed in the scandal, according to the Rolling Stone report, which revealed how alcohol-fueled lacrosse parties continued during the investigation of the players.

The trio were found not guilty in 2007 after Mangum’s story collapsed under legal scrutiny.

Roy Cooper, the attorney general at the time, concluded that there was no credible evidence that an attack ever took place. Its investigation found no DNA, witness or other evidence to support Mangum’s story.

Mr. Cooper went on to describe Mike Nifong, the Durham County district attorney who led the prosecution, as a “rogue state prosecutor.”

Mr. Nifong resigned in disgrace and was disbarred and briefly jailed for lying about sharing DNA tests with the defense team.

Prosecutors later declined to press charges against Mangum for fabricating the allegations.

Seligmann, Finnerty and Evan, who settled a lawsuit with the university, then spent seven years pursuing a separate lawsuit against the city of Durham and several city employees, but received no additional compensation.

A number of inconsistencies

Despite the case being dropped, Mangum wrote in her 2008 book, Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story, that she “will never say that nothing happened that night at all,” after providing graphic details about the fabricated incident.

Her story contained a number of inconsistencies over the years, but her broad claim was that she had been raped and strangled by three lacrosse players at the party.

Katerena DePasquale, who hosted Mangum on her podcast, said she did not realize she would apologize when she initially approached her for an interview.

But Mangum later expressed his desire to apologize to the three lacrosse players after being contacted by Ms. DePasquale.

“It has been on my heart to issue a public apology regarding the Duke lacrosse matter,” Mangum wrote to the podcast host, according to The Chronicle.

“I actually lied about the incident to the public, my family, my friends and to God about it and I’m not proud of it.”

Mangum said in the podcast interview, which was recorded last month, that she hoped the three men she falsely accused would forgive her.

“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,” she said.

“I want them to know that I love them and they haven’t earned that.”

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