Duke Lacrosse Accuser Made Previous Report

AP ^ | Apr 27 2006 | AARON BEARD

[Conservative Coulter Fan]

The woman who says she was raped by three members of Duke's lacrosse team also told police 10 years ago she was raped by three men, filing a 1996 complaint claiming she had been assaulted three years earlier when she was 14.

Authorities in nearby Creedmoor said Thursday that none of the men named in the decade-old report was ever charged but they didn't have details why.

A phone number for the accuser has been disconnected and her family declined to comment to The Associated Press. But relatives told Essence magazine in an online story this week that the woman declined to pursue the case out of fear for her safety.

The existence of the report surprised defense attorneys, one of whom has sought information about the accuser's past for use in attacking her credibility.

"That's the very first I've heard of that," said Bill Cotter, the attorney for indicted lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, who along with fellow Duke sophomore Reade Seligmann is charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual assault. He declined additional comment.

Attorneys for Seligmann asked the court this week to order the state to turn over the accuser's medical, legal and education records, and hold a pretrial hearing to "determine if the complaining witness is even credible enough to provide reliable testimony."

The accuser, a 27-year-old student at North Carolina Central University in Durham, told police she was hired to perform as a stripper at a March 13 party, where she was raped by three men.

According to the Creedmoor police report in August 1996, when the woman was 18, she told officers she was raped and beaten by three men "for a continual time" in 1993, when she was 14. She told police she was attacked at an "unspecified location" on a street in Creedmoor, a town 15 miles northeast of Durham.

The report lists the names of the three men, but no other details. Creedmoor police Chief Ted Pollard said Thursday he had no recollection of the report, and his staff has been unable to find any additional information about it.

Durham police Officer Brian Bishop, who interviewed the accuser in 1996 while working on the Creedmoor force, said Thursday he had a vague recollection of the report but couldn't remember any details.

When asked about the accuser's previous report of rape, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong declined to comment.

Before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted, attorneys for the players pointed to the accuser's criminal history when answering questions about their clients' legal troubles. The woman pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors in 2002.

[maggief]

Which is it?



http://www.essence.com/essence/lifestyle/takeastand/0,16109,1188001,00.html

Meanwhile Friday morning, WRAL talked to the accuser's mother, who insisted that the rape did happen. The mother, who WRAL does not identify because it would reveal the accuser's identity, said that the rape was committed by her daughter's ex-boyfriend and two of his friends and that her daughter did not pursue charges because the suspect threatened to kill her.

The accuser was asked by police in 1996 to write and submit a chronological version of the events, but police could not say if it was ever submitted. It was not found in a search of police records, Pollard said.



http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/433646.html

The woman's father said Thursday his daughter was not raped in the 1996 incident.

"They didn't do anything to her," he said.

The father said his daughter was held against her will by a group of men who had picked her up from school in Durham and drove her to Creedmoor. She was not sexually assaulted or injured in the encounter, he said, and she was returned home safely the same day.

The 1996 accusation came to light Thursday after Essence.com, the Web site of Essence, a lifestyle magazine, reported in a news update that the accuser's mother had said her daughter was raped by several men in Creedmoor when she was a teenager. When contacted by The News & Observer on Thursday, the mother said the magazine misrepresented her comments. She refused to elaborate on what her daughter had reported to the Creedmoor police.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," the mother said.

[Sacajaweau]

It's those new fangled "iron mike" condoms.

Condoms kinda take away from the spirit of "rape" but the three boys ALL put them on. No marks, no DNA, no screaming, no crying, no embarrassment. And she smiled for the camera after it was over.

[maggief]

Can they present the 1993/1996 previous rape report in a civil case?

[Peach]

Abrams: Yale, in every case I cover, I always go after you about claiming the media is to blame for something. On occasion, you can say the media is unfair, bu thte bottom line is this is just a silly comment by the DA.

Yale: In terms of you and I, we've had contentious debates and you've been right.

Abrams: You can stop there. Show over.

Yale: What Susan has been saying is ringing true. He's planning an exit strategy and he's trying to get elected. He's hanging by a thread and he really is the captain of a sinking ship. Your program has brought to light the fact that Nifong has probably indicted innocent men. Which the defense attorneys tried to tell him before the grand jury.

Abrams: I entirely agree with everything yous aid.

Georgia: As a DA, it's probably political but he's probably frustrated. Light shining on the case. We're all trial lawyers. One day you're up and one day you're down. All he has to do is tough it out and in the end we'll see.

[Peach]

Beautiful putting those statements up against each other.

[Carolinamom]

You've wrapped it up exactly. LOL Commercial: "Iron Mike Condums" REALLY Protect You!

[maggief]

All within approximately 24 hours. Sheesh!

[Sacajaweau]

You might be surprised. Don't forget, the accuser has to hit it right to start with. You have work records, email records, mail records, VISA records, telephone records. You'd be surprised at what YOU could find.

[Darlin']

I'm thinking that the "Moma" has decided there is some money to be made and so she is trying out versions of her daughter's stories to see which one might have traction.
If that nitwit DA had a clue, he'd tell her and her family to hush.

[Peach]

We're retired and live quiet lives and like it that way. If we didn't talk to anyone on the phone that night, we'd be sunk probably.

I think also that when we hear the defense attorneys scream that "80% of rape cases are tried without DNA", it's because women do wait months or years to bring rape charges.

And I think there should be a statute of limitations on how long a woman can wait. Like a few days, unless she's in a coma.

[Dukie07]

And waste an entire semester when there is not even any guarantee that this "march" will necessarity take place? Finals take place through next Saturday, 5/6. I know what my student would tell me if I made such a suggestion. Don't get me wrong, if I truly felt there was imminent danger, I'd be there in a flash. I'm concerned, but not hysterical. I suspect the administration's response was posed in such a way as to cause the least amount of reaction from the NBPP. I also do not believe the administration is so ignorant as to not plan for a possible "situation." I also would hope that they will not divulge what those plans are. Yes, we would like to see some statement of defense from Duke; but that may not be the best way to handle the situation. And I do believe that they are trying to handle this in a way that is best for the students and the university as a whole. Look at Finnerty's attorney, for instance. He's not making statements at all. All in all, Brodhead has made moves that, while not popular in our community, have included the Durham community at large. Giving the community some say was a smart move. I've not yet become jaded. That may yet happen. I hope it doesn't.

[Sacajaweau]

No help here...Possibly but the fact that she did not pursue it further says one of two things: False charge or fear. Nothing to satisfy a jury of her peers. Personally, I wouldn't use it because it's not the solution to this case.

[Carolinamom]

You make a strong and logical statement. I would hope, however, that apprehensive students would absent themselves from campus this weekend and Monday.

These Black Panthers are inviting a mob, and mobs have no conscience.

[Sacajaweau]

These parents sound like they have put up with a lot from their daughter and really are at a loss on which way to go. After it's all over, she's still their daughter and it may very well be that they adore the grandchildren.

[Jrabbit]

This group of thugs marched into a city council meeting in Dallas a few years ago....guns and all. Tell your student to stay as far away as possible from wherever this group shows up.

And I disagree....Brodhead is a cowardly idiot. By allowing this, he's putting your student in danger. Kids are trying to take finals....now they have to do that and protect themselves at the same time. Good luck.

[Jrabbit]

This is pathetic! How many lives does she get to ruin before her name is even made public!!!

[maggief]

New version of the 1993 incident. Question: How much weight can one loose in a week? (Oh yeah, and Dad didn't notice.)

http://www.nbc17.com/news/9054222/detail.html

The woman's parents told NBC17 that their daughter was attacked by the boy she was dating at the time and two of his friends. The three allegedly held her against her will in a house, raped her and threatened to kill her.

Her parents said she was so frightened at the time that she decided not to press charges. She lost a tremendous amount of weight the following week and became suicidal, blaming herself over what happened, so they took her to see a psychiatrist, they said.

[Neverforget01]

Well, if she wasn't a resident there, it may be that very few people ever knew of the complaint - probably just the PD employees and a handful of people they told.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. A town of two thousand can't have very many police officers. A police chief surely would hear of a gang rape allegation, regardless of its outcome. I think an allegation of beating and rape of a 14 year old would make news in Manhattan, nevermind a town of 2000. I think the police chief has other motives for saying he doesn't remember. What town would want this sleazy mess?

[Carolinamom]

She has forfeited any right to privacy w/the path of destruction to everyone else's rights that she has left in her wake.

[Dukie07]

Believe me, the warnings have been issued!