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.

[Jezebelle]

Rape is not prior sexual behavior on her part. It seems to me that all the defense needs to do is call one of the guys Mangum named in the Creedmor report.

[Neverforget01]

His hands may be tied. Certainly Duke gets federal funds even though it's a private University. Would the University be open to law suits by keeping out protests? I would think, however, that the group could be restricted to a particular section of the campus so as to not interrupt the students' lives, especially during finals week.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

or her shrink from the aftermath of the 1993/96 matter....

[TexKat]

DA: Accuser's Claim May Be Inadmissible

By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer
Published April 28, 2006, 4:38 PM CDT

DURHAM, N.C. -- The district attorney prosecuting two Duke University lacrosse players on rape charges said Friday that a similar complaint brought by the accuser 10 years ago may not be admissible if the Duke case goes to trial -- a suggestion disputed by a defense lawyer.

"This woman will have to testify, and it's valid to ask her if she's made any false accusations," said attorney Joe Cheshire, who represents a player who has not been charged. Cheshire said the decade-old report raises "real issues about her credibility."

According to an old police report uncovered Thursday, the stripper who claims she was raped by three Duke athletes at an off-campus party also told police in nearby Creedmoor in 1996 that three years earlier, she had been raped and beaten by three men when she was 14. None of the three was ever charged with sexual assault.

District Attorney Mike Nifong, who for weeks has avoided commenting publicly on the Duke case, cautioned Friday that a jury might never be allowed to hear about the prior allegations.

North Carolina's rape shield law lists "narrowly defined categories" under which an accuser's past sexual history is allowed as evidence, Nifong said. The court must hold a hearing to determine if the evidence meets those categories and to decide how it can be presented, he said.

The rape shield law allows an accuser's past sexual history to be introduced under the following conditions: if it concerns sex between the accuser and defendant; if it shows the acts charged were not committed by the defendant; if it suggests the accuser granted consent; or if it suggests the accuser fantasized or invented the allegations.

Arnold Loewy, a criminal law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that unless there is reason to believe the woman made a false accusation long ago, the defense may not be allowed to put the information before the jury.

Nifong's office contacted Creedmoor police Friday morning for information about the incident report, said Mayor Darryl Moss. He and Police Chief Ted Pollard said officials there have been unable to locate any documents related to the case beyond the initial report.

Relatives told Essence magazine in an online story this week that the woman declined to pursue the case out of fear for her safety.

Lacrosse players Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann are charged with raping the woman, a 27-year-old student at North Carolina Central University. She had been hired to perform as a stripper at a March 13 party.

Kirk Osborn, Seligmann's lawyer, declined to comment Friday on the earlier rape allegation. Finnerty's attorney, Bill Cotter, did not immediately return a call.

Earlier this week, Osborn filed a request for the accuser's medical, legal and education records. He also asked for a hearing to determine if she is credible.

* __

Associated Press Writer Samuel Spies contributed to this report from Raleigh.

[Publius22]

His hands may be tied.

I suspect even if his hands weren't tied, he wouldn't do much with them.

[Dukie07]

All I know is, when I asked my student about the media being outside the dorm, all I was told is that the students were told by the RA that they (the media) had a right to be there. I do not know the particulars.

[Krodg]

...could Brodhead restrict the access to a particular section? Perhaps he is trying to prevent violence by acquiescing a little?

Perhaps President Bush could restrict terrorists to certain areas of our country and prevent violence in other areas. That makes as much sense.

[Neverforget01]

FYI This from the BC newspaper police blotter:

5:09 p.m. - A news reporter attempted to interview a Boston College student in XXXXX Hall (my deletion) without authorization. The party was referred to the Public Relations office

A little common sense?

[TexKat]

Another, Different Protest on May 1

By: Christopher Flickinger

Posted 04/28/06

04:11 PM

As if there weren’t enough protests planned for Monday, another rally has just been thrown into the mix.

The New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense plans to march at Duke University on May 1 to "deal directly" with lacrosse players concerning rape charges.

The News & Observer reports that police departments are preparing for the “black-separatist group, which has a reputation for coming to its protests armed.”

The group’s leader, Malik Zulu Shabazz, says, "We as black men cannot sit idly by and allow white men to rape black women, regardless of what our sister (who by nature is a queen and a divine black woman) was doing," reports the paper citing a media release on the event.

Shabazz also noted "We are conducting an independent investigation, and we intend to enter the campus and interview lacrosse players," according to the article in The News & Observer.

Umm… I wonder what their “independent investigation” will find? I mean, I’m sure Shabazz doesn’t have any pre-conceived notions about the case.

Although Duke is a private institution, the university will allow the group on campus provided it follows the rules, reports the article.

And when asked if they will be “armed” during their campus visit, The News & Observer reports, “Shabazz chuckled and said, ‘I don't know if I can comment on that.’”

That’s tremendous! You know, I just thinking, what could really make this Duke incident even more interesting… a bunch of militants running around campus conducting their own investigation. Perfect!

[TexKat]

Black Panthers Promise 'Peaceful' LAX Protest

Both the Durham Police Department and the New Black Panther Party declined an on-camera interview. But a representative speaking on behalf of the group's leader tells Eyewitness News that contrary to reports, they will not be armed when they arrive on campus. In their words, it will be a "peaceful protest."

Eyewitness News has learned that the group wants to march to the lacrosse field and the house where the alleged rape occurred. Some students say it would not be a distraction as they get ready for Monday's final exams.

[abigailsmybaby]

....but we don't know enough to convict OR exonerate

Your first statement sounds like a conviction to me.

[GAgal]

If the 1993 incident involving a 14 yr girl being beaten and gang-raped for a considerable time by three perps was true, wouldn't the accuser have needed medical treatment? And wouldn't the lack of evidence of treatment show the incident didn't happen?

[Carolinamom]

As head of a major university, Broadhead would have been more professional first allow students to complete their exams before permitting such an organization access to the campus...if at all.

[maggief]

Good post.

Another point could be argued that alleged rape isn't sexual behavior.

[maggief]

I heard it told that the family was concerned about his safety since the father would want go after the attackers, though he only weighed 120 lbs. "soaking wet."

[maggief]

Once again, we're not hearing the whole story.

[Publius22]

I'm confused. I thought CM didn't report the first rape until 3 years later.

Duke Lacrosse Accuser Filed Gang Rape Claim 10 Years Ago

"The family member said the woman was picked up at the house of the alleged attack and taken by family members to the police station, where she gave a full report."

[shhrubbery!]

Exaggerated flair like that added to the 'M' and the 'N' signifies a person of a rather large ego.

Yes, that's exactly right. I'm not a professional graphologist either, but I can say with assurance that most pros would agree with that statement.

Nifong's handwriting shows a very clumsy grandiosity.

What's also telling about his signature is its juvenility. As a previous poster noted, it's like a 7th grade girl's.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

I (a layman) read the law as "behavior" being different from "act".....surely, fantasizing and inventing rapes is "behavior" and certainly sexual in nature.....but not an "act".

Maybe one of our Legal types will comment...

[maggief]

That's the crazy cousin. Hell, I think they're all nuts.