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]

I'll bet one has a mustache. :)

[beyond the sea]

Malik Shabaz --- Mr. Bizarro

[Mercat]

I understand but the fact is, it's the state's burden to prove that they committed the crime, not their burden to prove that they didn't.

[JLS]

Please ignor the trolls so we can keep this thread.

[Howlin]

Will they be releasing the names of the 3 who allegedly raped her in Creadmore? Putting posters up?

Yes. With "PLEASE COME FORWARD" over their heads.

[mystery-ak]

Geoffrey Fieger...makes a lot of sense.....I can't stand the man but if I ever need a defense lawyer, I'm getting him...

[beyond the sea]

Yep................. a little out of her shake-down league.

[LK44-40]

I am convinced that parents who feel that their children do no wrong are responsible for raising children who are consistantly in trouble.

I regret to say that my very own mother, RIP, had a strong attitude about defending her righteous children against the wrongs of the school system. I picked this up as a young child. I never got into any significant trouble in school, but I'd have been better off if I had not gone through the whole experience with a bit of a cocky attitude toward teachers and the whole school scene.

I'd put my own child, somehow, somewhere, into a school that I respected and then make it clear that the school was in charge. I am with you!

[Howlin]

LOL!

[pandoraou812]

You know at first I felt for the girl. Then the more I kept hearing the less I felt bad. Something just reeks about this whole thing. The father talking, this Kim person with her different stories and a DA who seems to have a grudge for Duke. Maybe these guys didnt behave very nicely but why would they have wanted to rape these two? I am sure they had their pick of girls to go with. Any dancer/stripper who goes without a bodyguard to a house is a moron or is not valued by her manager. I now think these girls were trying to scam these boys. I dont understand girls who put themselves in places where bad things can happen. If you are going to strip then take the steps to protect yourself or better yet dont strip. I dont want to hear the BS I had to do for my kids. Clean houses or find a way to make money where you arent endangering yourself. I want to know if they paid taxes on their tips. Since the DA is going after anything any of the players have done why not check out if these girls paid taxes or collected wefare?

[I want to know]

I'd like to know what occured in 1996 for her to come forward with the rape accusation. After all it had been 3+ years since she said the alleged rape happened.

[writmeister]

I keep hearing these TV lawyers say that the photographs do not help the defense and that the cab driver does not help the defense, and I wonder have these people ever been involved in a real criminal prosecution.

My nearly sixteen years as a prosecutor tells me that the photographs and the cab driver's statements help the defense.

[snarkytart]

Janie said that?

___________

Yes.

I think some of the people on here are for entertainment purposes only, they do not seem to know the details of the case.

[Howlin]

Thanks for reeling me in. I should take my own advice. :-)

[Perdogg]

This guys aren't being tried for being a-holes, they are being tried for rape. These guys probably made a racial slur and made the women mad. It is a sorid situation. A woman on Abrams said she believed the AV was raped by "someone at the party".

To me, it seems almost impossible for this rape to have occured. If the DNA comes up positive, then I might change my mind. I don't think these boys did it, if any thing occured at all.

If they did do it, I am going to drive to Durham and kick their butts for making me look like a fool.

[Sacajaweau]

I think the US Navy told her to find her own ship to work. Apparently she has....Durham and the surrounding towns.

[maggief]

I'd like to know what occured in 1996 for her to come forward with the rape accusation. After all it had been 3+ years since she said the alleged rape happened.

An excuse to avoid arrest?

[investigateworld]

>>>Can the City of Durham be sued by the defendants? I would think this information would help. What charges? False arrest, defamation of character, ???? Does the case have to go to trial before that can happen? If it's just dropped, are they out of luck, or might they still have some recourse?<<<

The attorneys that frequent this thread are all sharp individuals, but think the DA has a good 'out' as the standard is very high to show malicious prosecution.
However, it is my hope and prayer some sharp cop has this jerk DA on tape urging something out of order or illegal.
Then even though the 'defendants' are white, affluent and Yankees, all kinds of things could happen

The the federals via the DOJ could jump in for abuse of authority under color of law, or some fancy rights violation.
But I've noted the police have been totally silent as far as press releases or public statements.
I have faith the the lawyers the families have retained will find a way to make these fellers 'whole'. Should they chose to let it die, I can understand. This has been a nightmare.

[mystery-ak]

In your opinion, what does this past rape accusation do to this case?....

[sinkspur]

You've got a Steven Wright sense of humor. Unique.

You had me cryin' on that Pit bull thread yesterday.