Nearly 20 years after she accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in a case that garnered national attention, the accuser has now changed her story. She now admits she lied.
Crystal Mangum, who is currently serving prison time for murder, confessed to making up the rape claim this week in an interview at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. Until now, she had never publicly stated that it was untrue.
Back in March 2006, Mangum claimed the lacrosse players raped her at a house party in Durham, North Carolina. The players had paid strippers, including Mangum, to attend the party.
Download the Straight Arrow app today to get the stories that matter free from manipulation, bias or agenda.™
Point phone camera here
The Durham County district attorney initially charged the three players with sexual assault and kidnapping. The case became a national spectacle with racial overtones. The suspects all being from a white, affluent school, and the accuser, an African American woman.
The DA later recused himself. The North Carolina attorney general took over the case’s prosecution and determined that unreliable witnesses, a lack of DNA and contradictions in witness statements amounted to a “rush to accuse,” and the lacrosse players were innocent. The case was dismissed in 2007.
However, the Duke lacrosse program was scarred. Two of the exonerated players ended up transferring to other universities.
In October 2008, Mangum spoke publicly and refused to admit that she made up the story. She said she intended to get justice for herself.
But, this week, in an interview with the online show called Let’s Talk with Kat, Mangum said, “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 people who believed in me. I made up the story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God and that was wrong.”
Mangum hopes the men will forgive her. She won’t face perjury charges due to the statute of limitations expiring in North Carolina.
