Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits to lying
The woman falsely accused in 2006 Three Duke University lacrosse players Her rape made national headlines and stoked tensions about race, class and college athlete privilege, and she publicly admitted for the first time that she made up the story.
Crystal Mangum, who is black, said in an interview on the Let’s Talk to Kate podcast that she “made up a story that wasn’t true.” White player at the party where she was hired as a stripper “Because I wanted people’s approval, not God’s approval.”
“I gave false testimony against them, saying they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong,” Mangum, 46, said in an interview released Monday. It was recorded last month at the North Carolina Correctional Facility for Women, where Mangum was incarcerated for the 2011 stabbing death of her boyfriend.
The former Duke player is Acquitted in 2007 Mangum’s story fell apart under legal scrutiny.
The state attorney general’s office concluded there was no credible evidence that an attack had occurred, and its investigation found no DNA, witnesses or other evidence to corroborate Mangum’s story.
The Durham prosecutor who supported Mangum’s case was disbarred for lying and misconduct. Prosecutors at the time declined to charge Mangum with the false accusations.
Mangum said in the podcast interview that she hopes the three men who were falsely accused will forgive her.
“I want them to know that I love them, but they don’t deserve this,” she said.
Durham podcaster Kat DePasquale said she wrote to Mangum because she was curious about the case that has attracted so much attention, and Mangum wrote back saying she wanted to talk.
