An exotic dancer, Crystal Mangum, who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006, has confessed that her claims were false.
Mangum admitted to fabricating the story during an interview on the web show Let’s Talk with Kat, hosted by Katerena DePasquale.
“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong,” Mangum said from the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where she is serving time for a 2013 second-degree murder conviction. “I made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”
The accusations against David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann led to national outrage, widespread media coverage, and the cancellation of Duke’s 2006 lacrosse season.
The case also resulted in the firing of the team’s coach, Mike Pressler, and the disbarment of the district attorney, Mike Nifong, for misconduct.
In April 2007, then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, now North Carolina’s governor, exonerated the three men, stating that the charges “never should have been brought.”
Mangum, expressing regret, said during the interview, “I hope they can forgive me. I want them to know that I love them, and they didn’t deserve that.”
Duke University and the players reached an undisclosed settlement after the charges were dropped. In 2014, the city of Durham also settled a lawsuit with the three men, agreeing to pay $50,000 to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.
