Duke lacrosse case: Crystal Mangum says she falsely accused players of rape in 2006
In 2006, Mangum's false claims against the Duke players made national headlines, but the players were declared innocent
DURHAM, N.C. -- A Durham, North Carolina woman, who falsely claimed three Duke men's lacrosse team members raped her in 2006, is now admitting she made it up.
Crystal Mangum, made her confession at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women during a podcast interview with "Let's Talk with Kat."
Mangum said she "made up a story that wasn't true" about the players who attended a party where she was hired to perform as a stripper "because I wanted validation from people and not from God."
"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 during the interview.
In 2006, Mangum's false claims against the Duke players made national headlines, but the players were declared innocent after Mangum's story crumbled, and her mental stability was questioned.
The case sparked outrage from the Durham community and students and faculty at Duke University, and was covered as a top story locally and throughout the country.
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The state attorney general's office concluded there was no credible evidence an attack ever occurred, and its investigation found no DNA, witness or other evidence to confirm Mangum's story.
"As Attorney General, the governor took over this case from the local prosecutor, conducted a thorough reinvestigation to find the truth, dismissed the charges and publicly declared the players innocent of the alleged crimes," said a spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper, who was then the state's attorney general.
The Durham prosecutor who championed Mangum's case was disbarred for lying and misconduct. Prosecutors at the time declined to press charges against Mangum for the false accusations.
Mangum said in the podcast interview that she hopes the three falsely accused men can forgive her.
"I want them to know that I love them, and they didn't deserve that," she said.
Durham-based podcaster DePasquale said she wrote to Mangum because she was curious about the case that got so much attention, and that Mangum wrote back saying she wanted to talk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
