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]

There's more in her background, IMO.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Well, SirJohn, this makes me think of Munchhausen's Syndrome, where people feign diseases to gain sympathy and attention. Crying rape to gain sympathy and attention is not quite Munchhausen's Syndrome, but there must be a related personality disorder that covers it (any psychologists out there?). If I were a defense attorney, I would be moving Heaven and Earth to get her psychological records. I wonder if she was ever diagnosed with a Munchhausen's-like disorder?

Go for her kid's records as well. Munchausen's Syndrome by proxy.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Nifong can pick 'em, can't he? I feel the worse for the 2 indicted. They were suspended right before exams. I know I would be majorly pissed if that happened to me.

I understand that has been a long standing policy at Duke, but still no one (except freepers) has made a presumption of innocence.

[PleaseNoMore]

Bull$hit. This woman is a lair.

[PleaseNoMore]

I just found another thread with the same story and asked the very same question. What are the odds? I bet the stories are alomost identical too save for the races of the men.

[PleaseNoMore]

She's an equal opportunity accuser. No way this case is about race. /sarc

[StarFan]

This sounds so much like Tawana Brawly

It did initially but weeks later with the introduction of a broomstick it copy cats the Abner Louima case. When did Sharpton meet with the accuser? (sarcasm)

[PleaseNoMore]

No, the police report lists them as B/M (black males).

[maggief]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=1900472&page=1


Prior Rape Allegation in Duke Lacrosse Investigation: What Will It Mean in Court?
Different Men, Different House, Same Alleged Victim
Related Stories


By CHRIS CUOMO, MARY HARRIS, and LARA SETRAKIAN of the LAW & JUSTICE UNIT

April 28, 2006 — Three men allegedly raped and beat her repeatedly in a North Carolina house. They used their fists and themselves as weapons. Drugs and/or alcohol were believed to be involved.

These may sound like allegations from the Duke lacrosse rape case. They're actually from a 1996 police report that surfaced Thursday about events that had taken place allegedly in 1993. The alleged victim is the common denominator in both cases.

The police report, obtained by The Associated Press, was filed by the alleged victim when she was 18, and she cited an incident that had taken place when she was 14. The police report lists the alleged crime as "statutory rape." It does not appear that any of the three men she accused in the report were ever arrested or charged; ABC News was unable to confirm whether any charges had been filed.

Defense lawyer and legal analyst Brian Wice thinks the police report and prior rape allegations could have serious consequences on the Duke lacrosse case.

"If this is true, [District Attorney] Mike Nifong has a better chance of winning the Heisman trophy than getting a conviction in this case [if the prior allegation was false]," Wice said.

(snip)


The alleged victim's mother told the Herald-Sun newspaper in North Carolina that her daughter had gone to a psychiatrist after the first alleged rape and had put it behind her.

"She got over that in about a year," she said.

(snip)

The alleged victim's former husband, Kenneth Nathanial McNeill, told ABC News that he believed she had been raped in 1993. She and McNeill were engaged at the time the police report was filed.

McNeill was sympathetic to his former wife in an interview with Essence magazine. He said that he was happy with the indictments of lacrosse players Seligmann and Collin Finnerty because he was glad "to see justice done."

[boldtruth]

I am one of the neutral parties here as well. And I also read other articles. One article, stated the father talked to the press and said she was 'violated with an object'. IMHO, he should keep his mouth shut(if it did come from her father?). The medical report goes into details that the public has no access to. Before anyone says it--No,I dont think she used a rigid object on herself. Everyone knows that can cause damage...Keep in mind she was told it would be a group of five men.I am also not sure how much to believe what comes from the media. I have the wait and see attitude.

[johnny7]

Nifong isn't presenting this 'case' to the judge & jury... he's presenting it to his voters.

[maggief]

More on Nifong here:

http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/433642.html

Mike Nifong

Mike Nifong, 55, has been a Durham prosecutor for more than 27 years. The Wilmington native got a law degree from UNC in 1978 and went to work in the Durham District Attorney's Office.

In his career in Durham, he has taken more than 300 cases to trial. Nearly a quarter of those were homicides. In 1994, he became the chief assistant in the office, and his duties included more administrative matters. Five years later, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and missed months of work. When he returned, then District Attorney Jim Hardin moved Nifong to traffic court where he negotiated pleas until Hardin was appointed to a judgeship last year. The governor appointed Nifong to fill Hardin's seat until the election.

Nifong's critics over the past month have accused him of using the investigation into a black woman's claims that she was raped by three white men at a spring break lacrosse team party for political gain. After news of the investigation broke March 24, Nifong granted more than 50 interviews, many on live national television. Lawyers and experts say that Nifong may have crossed the State Bar rules with statements about the facts or particulars of the case.

He has defended his actions, saying he believes in the role of the media in the judicial system. But Nifong said he underestimated the attention the case would get.

During the campaign, Nifong also has talked about the gang problem in Durham. At a candidate forum April 12, Nifong said that in addition to law enforcement, one way to attack gangs is by keeping the city's youth out of them. His office participates in a program to notify parents that the parent will be charged with a misdemeanor if his or her child continues to miss school. Nifong said he would like to see an end to out-of-school suspensions, which only give young people time to get into trouble.

"It's not our desire to turn kids into criminals," Nifong said.

[za_claws]

"...Keep in mind she was told it would be a group of five men"
_______________________

keep in mind SHE SAID she was told it would be a group of five men

[StarFan]

This prior rape accusation will be brought up by defense if this goes to trial....

Don't believe it's permitted with the rape shield law however with the national coverage this case has gotten, it will be difficult to find a juror who isn't aware.

[bwteim]

Thanks for ping and post.

[Neverforget01]

"It's not our desire to turn kids into criminals," Nifong said.

Except kids who he thinks will help him get elected. I hate being so cynical, but anger is getting the better part of me. I can't imagine how the Seligmanns and Finnertys feel.

Imagine a DA indicting after refusing to hear exculpatory evidence by the defense?

[maggief]

In an earlier interview with the Observer, the woman's ex-husband said the accuser "has been hurt before," but he would not elaborate. The two married when the accuser was 18 and divorced two years later.



http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/14448057.htm


The earlier report:

At 19, she married, but got separated two months later. She was divorced about a year later. In a brief interview Monday, her ex-husband described her as "very loving" and said she's usually quick to smile. He said he saw her about a week ago, and knew something was wrong by her demeanor. He also said she "has been hurt before," but didn't elaborate.


http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/colleges/14312569.htm

[PleaseNoMore]

She "got over" the alleged rape in a year? Bull$hit. In cases of rape, not even to mention gang rape, it takes women years to even come to terms with what happened and sometimes they never do. It's not something you just get over.

My new term for this lying skank is "equal opportunity accuser" as the first three rapists were black males and the Duke boys are white. Who says she is racist?

[boldtruth]

And WHAT was the other dancer(Kim)told?

[Sacajaweau]

Meet me in the parking lot. I'll be the one wearing "a black belt".