NCCU classes set for accuser
The family of a woman who says Duke
lacrosse players raped her wants to hear from her
Samiha Khanna, Staff Writer, N&O Published: Aug 19, 2006 12:30 AM
DURHAM - The woman who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape is scheduled to start another semester at N.C. Central University when undergraduate courses begin Monday.
If the young woman reports to her classes, at least then, her father says, he will have some sense that she's all right.
The 28-year-old student and mother of two has virtually vanished this summer, her father said in an interview this week.
She has cut off contact with her family, and neither police nor the district attorney would say this week whether the woman is still cooperating with them.
The woman was recently observed leaving the Durham Police Department's headquarters with her two children.
But police did not comment on whether the visit was tied to the investigation into a Duke lacrosse party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. on March 13, where the woman was hired as a dancer and said later she was beaten, raped and sodomized.
The News & Observer is not naming the accuser or her family members because it is the paper's policy not to identify people listed as victims of sexual assault on police reports.
The notoriety and publicity has mounted since the assault was reported. The mainstream media have never printed or uttered her name, but her identity is far from a secret.
"Everyone knows who she is, by now," the woman's father said.
Since making the allegations, the woman has been depressed, lost weight and has stopped communicating with her family, her father said.
The 62-year-old retired truck driver says he hasn't seen his daughter since June, when he happened to spot her sitting in a friend's car at a traffic light on Fayetteville Street.
"She said she was doing fine," he said. "I asked where [her] kids were, and she said they were out of town. ... Then the light changed."
The accuser's father and mother said they are desperate to see their grandchildren, ages 7 and 6.
The couple also marked their daughter's 28th birthday last month, but they lament the fact that they didn't know where to send well wishes and gifts.
"I used to see her every day until all this stuff [happened]," the woman's father said.
The worried father said he wasn't aware his daughter was scheduled to go back to school at N.C. Central University next week until it was confirmed by a reporter.
Sharon Saunders, special assistant to the chancellor for public relations, said this week that the woman is enrolled for the fall semester, but she could not say what degree she is pursuing or how many classes she must complete before that degree is earned.
The News & Observer has previously confirmed that the woman was studying psychology last semester and had a 3.75 grade-point average.
Despite arguments presented by defense attorneys and critics of the case that the rape didn't occur, the woman's father said he still believes his daughter was physically harmed at the Duke lacrosse party.
"She wouldn't go to the hospital if she was going to make something up," he said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/476911.html
After reading this article, I am starting to wonder about a few things.
Cash Michaels wrote on the wabc board:
"..... she had to separate from her children for a while, has recieved death threats at her parents' home, hadn't seen her father for months until they accidently ran into each other two Friday's ago at his sister's home, ....."
and from this article:
"...She has cut off contact with her family, and neither police nor the district attorney would say this week whether the woman is still cooperating with them.
The woman was recently observed leaving the Durham Police Department's headquarters with her two children. ..
...
The 62-year-old retired truck driver says he hasn't seen his daughter since June, when he happened to spot her sitting in a friend's car at a traffic light on Fayetteville Street.
"She said she was doing fine," he said. "I asked where [her] kids were, and she said they were out of town. ... Then the light changed."
The accuser's father and mother said they are desperate to see their grandchildren, ages 7 and 6.
I don't think she can take care of her own kids.
She needed two or three drivers for a reason.
Of course, if Nifong has her under protection, he's taking care of her kids too.
Kevin Miller (who's parlayed the Duke coverage into a better job in another city) stated on National TV that the woman was hospitalized for mental issues. This may have also have been some type of rehab for the worst cases.
Who benefits from her NOT talking to her parents? Mike Nifong - that's who. I can see Nifong having cops driving her around, providing paid housing for her and her kids, - and she's following Nifong's instructions by not talking to Crazy Dad - and Mom. The Mom has always been working the Money angle on this case. The parents have met with Simeon, the Mother has reportedly met with Willie Gary, and some say the Mother took money for an article in Essence.
Money hungry Mom, Crazy Dad, and Jackii are just bad for NIFONG. Crystal was living by feeding her addiction and living day by day. She is not the one that has made a decision to move or not contact her family or suddenly spend time with her kids. This is way too radical of a change. Some handler is taking care of her and shuttling her around. Nifong has deemed her in need of 24 hour police protection and he has many dollars available to support her, and he has the resources of the state insofar as medical attention, child care, transportation, living expenses, etc.
I think she's living a relatively pampered life at this point - in that she doesn't have to work and she has child care and a couple state provided drivers (police).
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