Accuser in Duke lacrosse case wanted money, man says (DukeLax Ping)

Joseph Neff, Benjamin Niolet and Anne Blythe, Staff Writers DURHAM - Four days after she said she was raped, the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case told co-workers at a Hillsborough strip club that she was going to get money from some boys at a Duke party who hadn't paid her, the club's former security manager said.

"She basically said, 'I'm going to get paid by the white boys,' " H.P. Thomas, the former security manager at the Platinum Club, said in an interview Friday. "I said, 'Whatever,' because no one takes her seriously."

On March 14, the woman said she was assaulted and raped by three men at a lacrosse team party that began late on the night of March 13. Three players -- David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md.; Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y.; and Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells N.J. -- have been charged with rape, sexual assault and kidnapping. All three have declared their innocence and called the accusations lies.

Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong declined to comment on Thomas' recollections. Thomas said he had not previously come forward on the advice of lawyers.

Nifong has said in court that nearly a month after the party, the woman was in his office and appeared too traumatized to talk about what had happened to her. Nifong said that throughout the April 11 meeting with Nifong and police investigators, the woman seemed near tears and had trouble making eye contact.

But less than a week after the party, Thomas said, the woman seemed fine, and weeks later, he realized a friend of his had a video of her dancing at the club in the early hours of March 26.

The accuser never gave any indication that the party was a bad time, let alone that she was assaulted or raped, Thomas said.

The News & Observer generally does not identify the complainants in sexual assault cases. The woman could not be located for comment Friday.

On March 17, the woman showed Thomas a hospital bracelet and paperwork. While she talked about being owed money, the accuser never gave any word or indication of being hurt, he said.

"The other girls would have known if something had happened," Thomas said. "If another dancer had been beat up or raped by a bunch of white boys, there would have been a ruckus."

Thomas said dancers must sign in when they take guests into the club's VIP room. He said those sheets show that the woman had signed in March 17 and 18. He said she also danced the following weekend.

The club's owner, Victor Olatoye, said the club's records show the woman was dancing at the club March 23, 24, 25 and into the early hours of March 26. Olatoye has no record of her working the previous weekend.

Olatoye said he had given a sworn statement to an investigator in Nifong's office last month initially saying that he had not seen the woman since February.

That night at the club, Olatoye checked his records and called the investigator back to change his sworn statement.

Thomas said he worked as security manager at the club from January through April. He said he had little to gain by coming forward because of a pending cocaine possession charge. Staff writer Joseph Neff can be reached at 829-4516 or jneff@newsobserver.com.

http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/
Not about racism

Grant Farred's column headline ["Secret racism underlying lacrosse case," Oct. 29] summarizes the problem with his diatribe. The 'case' is the accusation of three students with assault and rape.

To this point every fact that has been disclosed publicly seems to exonerate the accused. Unfortunately, the DA and the media early on decided that all of the issues that Farred decries made these students guilty of a crime. While it is certainly important to discuss the issues Farred raised, they are not the crime for which these young men stand (apparently falsely) accused. He seems to want to convict these students of a crime because there is racism, sexism and underage drinking among lacrosse players. Should Farred be fired because some professors are racist, sexist or ultra right/left wing?

Equally strained is his criticism of students registering to vote. He states students are wrong for not being involved in the community and then wrong when they peaceably and democratically exercise their right to dissent from the ill-conceived actions of the DA.

These three young men are being made the scapegoat for real social ills that they did not create. It's time for educated people like Prof. Farred to differentiate between those social ills and criminal actions, rather than continuing to obfuscate.

DAVID ROSENTHAL

November 6, 2006

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/
The Latest Bombshell

I spoke last night with Ashley Cannon, a former assistant district attorney in Mike Nifong’s office.

She told me the following:

On Friday, her last day working for Nifong, Cannon spoke with the Administrative Office of the Courts, and filed an oral complaint alleging sexual harassment by Assistant District Attorney C. Destine Couch and a complaint against District Attorney Nifong for taking no action on the matter.

Couch received some attention earlier in the case, after people noticed his racy myspace.com website (which was then taken down). According to Cannon, Couch engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior that prompted her to file an internal complaint with David Saacks, the chief assistant district attorney. Saacks, she said, then brought the complaint to Nifong.

I spoke this morning with Saacks. He said that he could confirm that the complaint had occurred, but otherwise, as a personnel matter, only Nifong could comment on the issue.

Cannon said that, around four weeks ago, after Nifong showed no signs of acting, she made an appointment to speak to the district attorney. She reported that Nifong told her that they would talk about the matter later; and in the meantime, he would put her on a schedule that didn’t overlap with Couch. When Nifong did neither and she felt that the situation wasn’t going to improve, she decided to leave and file her complaint—against Couch for inappropriate behavior and against Nifong for inaction.

I asked Cannon why she came forward now; she said that she felt compelled to follow the same advice she gave to women who experienced sexual harassment in their jobs.

The N&O reached Ken Williams, human resources officer with AOC, who "said he had not heard about the complaint but would not have been the one to take it. He said if human resources receives a complaint, the office typically will investigate and make suggestions or recommendations to a district attorney, but that his office has no authority over elected officials or their employees."

Couch’s mother, Finesse Couch, is a major player in the Durham Committee for the Affairs of Black People. The PAC recently endorsed Nifong, even though African-American groups traditionally look poorly upons reckless prosecutors. Finesse Couch has also donated $1000 to Nifong’s re-election campaign. Her most recent contribution, $250, came on October 10, or after Cannon had complained about C. Destine Couch’s behavior.

The ironies of Cannon’s experience, of course, are numerous:

* In the last seven months, Nifong has positioned himself as a great defender of women’s rights; yet he appears to have had a blasé attitude toward following up on a sexual harassment complaint in his own office.
* Would Nifong have handled Cannon’s complaint differently if Couch’s mother had not been a significant figure for his re-election effort?
* Nifong felt comfortable moving forward in the lacrosse case without ever speaking with the accuser about her version of events; and yet here, with a member of his own office filing a complaint and talking personally to him, he appears to have done little or nothing about it?

I emailed Couch and Nifong for comment; both have, to date, not replied. The N&O did reach Nifong; he refused to comment.

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