DURHAM, N.C. — A woman who falsely accused three Duke University men’s lacrosse players of rape in 2006 admitted she fabricated the story and asked the players to forgive her.
Crystal Mangum, who was an exotic dancer at the time, made the admission at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women during a podcast interview with “Let’s Talk with Kat,” WTVD reported.
“I testified falsely against them by saying that 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 told host Katerena DePasquale.
It is the first time Mangum has publicly stated she lied after accusing David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann of the alleged sexual assault, WRAL reported. When asked why, Mangum said she made up a story that wasn’t true because she “wanted validation from people and not from God.”
Mangum is currently serving in prison after her conviction in 2013 of second-degree murder, CNN reported. She was convicted of fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to the cable news outlet. The interview took place at the prison.
The case brought against Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann came after the events of March 13, 2006, according to The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper. Mangum alleged that the three players raped her at a team house party, where they paid to have two strippers — including Mangum — in attendance.
The allegations triggered a widespread national response from the media, the newspaper reported.
Crystal Mangum, the woman who falsely accused three Duke men’s lacrosse players of rape in 2006, admitted for the first time that she lied about the allegations, and asked for David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann’s forgiveness:https://t.co/8JTulQ6JQF
— The Chronicle (@DukeChronicle) December 13, 2024
Then-Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong sought charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual assault against the players, according to WRAL. Nifong later recused himself from the case and was found guilty of lying about DNA evidence that would have cleared the men.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who was the state’s attorney at the time, declared the players innocent in 2007, saying there was no credible evidence against them, the television station reported.
“It’s been on my heart to do a public apology concerning the Duke lacrosse case,” Mangum wrote to DePasquale in a letter obtained by 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 about it.”
“When we met and were about to begin the interview, she made it clear that all she wanted to do is to apologize,” DePasquale wrote to the newspaper. “It felt like this apology was something she needed to get off her chest.”
The accused Duke lacrosse players and their teammates pursued civil litigation to restore their reputations, WRAL reported. Former Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, who lost his job because of the case, later sued the university.
Duke and the three players reached an undisclosed settlement shortly after the charges were dropped, according to CNN. The city of Durham settled a lawsuit by the players in 2014. As part of the settlement, Durham agreed to pay $50,000 to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. the cable news outlet reported.
Officials in the Duke athletic department declined The Chronicle’s request for comment on Mangum’s statement. University administration, former University President Richard Brodhead, Pressler and Seligmann did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
During the podcast, Mangum said she hoped that the players “can heal and trust God and know that God loves them and that God is loving them through me, letting them know that they’re valuable,” adding that the men “didn’t deserve (the accusations).”
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