Call adds mystery to lacrosse case (DukeLax)

News and Observer ^ | July 12, 2006 | Joseph Neff

[abb]

Phone use spans time of team party

In the middle of a Duke lacrosse party where a dancer said she was gang-raped for 30 minutes, a call was placed from her cell phone to a Durham escort service.

The 12:26 a.m. call to the service, Centerfold, lasted one minute, according to a copy of her cell phone bill reviewed by The News & Observer. It is unclear whether the call was a request for another job, a cry for help or something else, or even whether the accuser made the call herself.

But the accuser's phone records add some details to the chronology of the March 13 party, a drunken spring break bash that spawned a national controversy.

Neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers would discuss the phone records Tuesday. Neither the accuser nor a second dancer at the party could be reached, nor could representatives of Centerfold. Police Chief Steve Chalmers was out of town; his spokeswoman said he would not discuss the case.

Three players have been charged with first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping: Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J.; Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y.; and Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md. Lawyers for the players have proclaimed their clients' innocence and said no rape or sex occurred at the house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.

District Attorney Mike Nifong, whose handling of the case has undergone national scrutiny, has been adamant that the woman was raped at the party. Nifong has not given a precise timeline of when he thinks an assault occurred.

[GAgal]

The "check on the young'uns" comment was in the radio transmission from Sgt. Shelton at Kroger to the police dispatcher. I think I remember when Crystal wouldn't/couldn't give her name/address when removed from Kim's car, Shelton told the dispatcher he was sending her to Durham Access for involuntary commitment.

She may have "miraculously" revived upon hearing that and tried to play the "Please let me go .. I've got kids at home who need me" card. Shelton seemed to realize the type of person he was dealing with, but did ask someone to check out her story about the children.

[GAgal]

I believe one of the defense motions describes the captains' experience at the police station on the 16th. The house search didn't begin until the evening hours, after which the three guys followed LE downtown and were questioned for hours. They were asked to ID the players present at the party from team pictures shown them on a monitor, much like Crystal later on. If I remember right, they didn't leave the station until around 3-4:00 a.m. No wonder they may have inadvertantly left a couple of people off the list.

[TommyDale]

I don't know. Do I? ;-)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1665783/posts?page=24#24

[Locomotive Breath]

College Goes to Court

At one panel I attended, San Francisco lawyer Zachary Hutton explained Williams v. Board of Regents, a recent case in which a University of Georgia student alleged having been raped by two student-athletes while a third student watched. The police charged the athletes with rape, and the university decided not to conduct its own investigation until the criminal case was resolved.

That turned out to be a mistake. The plaintiff then sued the university for sexual harassment, and the 11th Circuit held this year that the university could be liable because, by waiting to conduct an independent investigation until the criminal case was resolved, it had exhibited deliberate indifference to the alleged rape. "The court emphasized," Mr. Hutton told the college lawyers, "that the pending criminal trial . . . did not affect the university's ability to institute its own proceedings, and the criminal charges would not have prevented future attacks while the charges were pending."

So in a reverse sense, could Duke be liable for failing to investigate and determining that the lax players are NOT a threat to the university and for denying them a return to school?

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

OMG, the visuals!!!!

[abb]

Check this one out, lol...

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/

[ltc8k6]

Actually, I think Duke is guilty of deliberate indifference to these rape charges. Duke should have done it's own thorough investigation.

I can actually see CGM and the LAX players making a case because of this. Duke did not treat the rape allegation seriously at all, did they?

[Sacajaweau]

I would expect: She's got three kids that should be checked on. I'll give you the address.

The cops transmission is tooooo casual. They knew who/what they were dealing with and I think it is apparent from other transmissions. (She wasn't exactly in a business suit).

Question: If the cops had let her go...as they likely had done again and again, would she still have cried rape?? Me thinks not.

[abb]

another...

http://18to24bracket.blogspot.com/2006/07/guest-contributor-duke-lacrosse.html

[ltc8k6]

My theory is that she claimed rape to get out of being involuntarily committed.

She has since been telling ridiculous and contradictory tales left and right in order to get out of the new mess she created by claiming she was raped.

She thought that any DA in his right mind would just drop the whole thing when she told so many versions of the story.

She failed to account for Nifong's political ambitions, and his lack of knowledge about how to be a DA.

Then again, who would ever have figured Nifong would be so many sammiches short of a picnic?

If you changed the names and told this story, nobody would believe the DA went forward with this stupid case.

[SarahUSC]

Your "lineup" theory is very clever. Does anyone have any ideas on how she happened to choose the three guys?

Really she chose 4 but they chased her away from the first one. I agree with JLS that he was someone she wasn't supposed to pick and this made her very nervous. She was very tentative on her ID of Evans, somewhat tentative with Seligmann but very certain on Finnerty. Why?

[ltc8k6]

Do we know if CGM's parole is up?

If it's not, what effect might these false charges have on it?

[CondorFlight]

"but very certain on Finnerty. Why?"

Because Finnerty is probably from the wealthiest family, and he is vulnerable because of the DC trouble.

And that fact that the wealthiest players (Evans' family is also wealthy, I don't know about Seligman's) makes me instantly suspicious, that someone in NC was seeing dollar signs.

[CondorFlight]

"but very certain on Finnerty. Why?"

Remember she said he was "the small skinny one". . .

[ltc8k6]

When you look at CGM's records, if you scroll down near the end, you'll see stuff about possession and use of controlled substances, submit to drug screen, submit to warrantless search, etc.

What is that all about? I thought we only knew about her alcohol problems.

http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/apps/offender/raw1?DOCNUM=0801264&APPV7AA1=on&APPV9BJ1=on&INMV4AA1=on&INMV4BB1=on&INMV4CA1=on&INMV9CF1=on&OFNV1BA1=on&OFNV3AA1=on&OFNV3BB1=on&OFNV3BS1=on&OFNV3BT1=on&OFNV3BV1=on&OFNV3CE1=on&OFNV3DE1=on&OFNV9BE1=on&SEARCH=Search

[js1138]

If you changed the names and told this story, nobody would believe the DA went forward with this stupid case.

I have a nephew who is a defense attorney. I described the case to him and he said these practices are routine for prosecutors. He also said as long as there is a "victim" sticking to her story, he is immune from any possible disciplinary action.

There are many cases, he says, where the jury comes back not guilty in five minutes, and the prosecutor is unaffected.

[Ken H]

Durham is a very busy place crime wise - and I wouldn't be surprised if she was "allowed" to operate.

Here is a comparison of arrests by offense between Wake County (Raleigh, NC) and Durham County--

Durham County--

Population- 221,436
Total Arrests 14,136
Murder 27
Rape 24
Robbery 196
Aggravated Assault 621
Burglary422
Prostitution and commercial vice 8
Sex offenses 5

--http://www.fedstats.gov/mapstats/arrests/county/37063.html

________________________________________

Wake County--

Population 627,846
Total Arrests 50,848
Murder 39
Rape 34
Robbery 263
Aggravated Assault 655
Burglary 867
Prostitution and commercial vice 107
Sex offenses 147

--http://www.fedstats.gov/mapstats/arrests/county/37183.html

[abb]

Well, there it is. Wonder what the ratios compared to the rest of the US is?

[xoxoxox]

From Long Island's Newsday-- July 12, 2006

"Nifong, though, remains confident in the case, according to Durham Mayor Bill Bell.

"It would surprise me if he were not to proceed with the trial," Bell, 64, said. He believes
Nifong's support in the city - with a population that is 46 percent white and 44 percent black
- is steady.

"I just had a conversation with Mike and he feels strongly about the case," Bell said.
"He wants to see it in the court. " "

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liduke124814326jul12,0,4766953.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines

re: post 617- don't forget to factor in all the crime Durham 'exports' to other counties.

[SarahUSC]

I tend to agree. There are dollar signs all over this thing. But did she come up with these three herself or did she have help?

I doubt she remembers seeing Finnerty and Seligmann that night. Finnerty may have been gone before she got there and Seligmann wasn't there for long. She might remember Evans because supposedly he helped her to the car.

I think she made up the rape story to get herself out of a jam at Durham Access. I don't think she ID'd anyone until that final lineup. I think Nifong was pushing for IDs because he knew the DNA wasn't working out. He was probably in touch with the SBI lab. The only way for him to get indictments was for her to ID someone. She may have done some research on her own or the cops may have prompted her. They were clearly leading her to some degree. They steered her away from her first pick and they seemed happy with her picking Collin, Reade and Dave.