In a new interview, Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum admitted she falsified rape allegations against three Blue Devil players.
In 2006, Mangum, a stripper, claimed that Duke men’s lacrosse members David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann’s sexually assaulted her at a house party. The explosive accusations set off a national firestorm resulting in the cancelation of the Duke season and an outcry for justice for Mangum.
While the charges against all three were eventually dropped in April 2007, Mangum had never said publicly that she made up the allegations–until now.
In an interview with the internet show “Let’s Talk with Kat,” Mangum, who is currently imprisoned in North Carolina for the second-degree murder of her then-boyfriend in 2013, admitted she lied about the ordeal.
“I testified falsely against them [the Duke lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong,” Mangum said. “And I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me, and made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God. And that was wrong, and I hope that they can forgive me.”
Mangum’s apology can’t undo all of the fallout from her initial accusations, but perhaps it can help her and the young men whose lives she turned upside down find some measure of closure.
“It’s been on my heart to do a public apology concerning the Duke lacrosse case,” Mangum said to “Let’s Talk with Kat” post Katerena DePasquale in a letter obtained by the Duke 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.”
More than 18 years after the Duke lacrosse allegations, Crystal Mangum admits that she made it all up.
“I testified falsely against [the lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn’t…I made up a story that wasn’t true…I hope that they can forgive me.” pic.twitter.com/3yMjbQTQXH— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) December 12, 2024
Mangum, who is in the middle of a 14-to-18 year prison sentence, can not be prosecuted for perjury in this case because the statute of limitations on perjury charges has expired.
Former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong, the lead prosecutor on the case, was disbarred in June 2007 for lying in court and withholding DNA evidence that proved Evans, Seligmann and Finnerty were innocent.
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