Posted on 10/11/2006 1:52:56 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM -- A CBS "60 Minutes" segment on the controversial Duke University lacrosse rape case is expected to air Sunday evening and will include interviews with all three indicted players and Kim Roberts Pittman, the second dancer at the party where the attack allegedly occurred.
CBS would not comment on the show. The network's normal practice is to withhold information about "60 Minutes" broadcasts until a few days in advance.
But Pittman's lawyer, Mark Simeon of Durham, confirmed Tuesday that his client was interviewed. But Simeon ended a telephone conversation before fielding a question about what Pittman told the interviewer.
An exotic dancer at the time, Pittman was with another dancer who claimed she was raped and sodomized by three lacrosse players during an off-campus party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in mid-March.
Pittman since has been quoted as saying the rape charges were "a crock." She also told police in a March 22 handwritten statement that she and the accuser ended their performance when someone at the lacrosse party "brought out a broomstick and ... said he would use the broomstick on us."
"That statement made me uncomfortable and I felt like I wanted to leave," Pittman added. "I raised my voice to the boys and said the show was over."
Pittman said she then asked the alleged rape victim to leave the party with her. But she said the accuser "felt we could get more money and that we shouldn't leave yet."
According to Pittman, the accuser "began showing signs of intoxication" early in the dance performance and was "basically out of it" by the time it ended.
Pittman finally drove the other dancer to a Hillsborough Road grocery store, from which a 911 call was placed to police.
There is nothing about an alleged rape in Pittman's written statement, which is included in public-record court files.
All three defendants also were interviewed for the "60 Minutes" segment, sources told The Herald-Sun. The interviewer is veteran reporter Ed Bradley.
The three -- Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans -- remain free under $100,000 bonds as they await a trial that is expected to occur next year. Each maintains he is innocent.
Neither they nor their families could be reached Tuesday for possible comment about the CBS show, and their attorneys had no comment.
Defense lawyers apparently will not appear on the television program. Neither will District Attorney Mike Nifong, who has been widely criticized for allegedly rushing to judgment in the case and making inflammatory public statements before he had sufficient evidence.
For the past four months, Nifong has not discussed the situation publicly. He was out of town on business and unreachable for comment Tuesday.
Benjamin Himan and Mark Gottlieb, police investigators in the lacrosse case, also could not be reached. But sources said the two had not been interviewed by "60 Minutes" as of Friday.
The Police Department repeatedly has declined to discuss the lacrosse incident.
It could not be determined Tuesday if a one-time driver for the alleged rape victim, Jarriel Lanier Johnson, was among those Bradley contacted.
"I have nothing to say about it," Johnson told The Herald-Sun by telephone before hanging up.
But Johnson gave police an April 6 handwritten statement about an "appointment," "a job" and a performance the accuser had at three different hotels in two days not long before the alleged rape.
Johnson also said she had sexual intercourse with him during the same time period.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-777449.html
I guess I have to rephrase my question by saying, "What are the Duke alums I know going to say about this?" The only alums I really know...that I know of... are FReepers. :)
This surprises me too. There's no question that it's her. Same clothes. It's her. Kind of weird that he interviewed her there.
This makes me incredibly nervous for all the obvious reasons.
I'm not even sure that "nervous" fully explains the feeling.... but yeah, you and me both,
Well, she sure looks happy.
I am quite sure the Kim had only dreamed of ever being on national tv, let alone being "interviewed" by a nationally known tv personality. She was, no doubt, on an ego high.
The thing is, they've been saying that this 60 Minutes piece was going to advance the case significantly not just re-report the facts that are already known. And that was awhile ago, before the player interviews came up.
I thought that sounded great but now I'm seriously worried that they may be advancing things in a whole different direction from the one I imagined.
I don't put much faith in media hype. They "bait" you with the promise of something explosive, then leave you wondering what the heck all the hoopla was about when the show is finally over. Boy, do I ever hope I am pleasantly surprised by Mr. Bradley. I do refuse, however, to hold my breath.
Was the pic before or after the interview. If it's after, then either we're sunk, or she made a lot of money.
At this point I sure hope it's just hype. I sure as hell don't want them advancing the case in Nifong's direction.
Or she threw Nifong under the bus.
This is all speculation, Sunday will be interesting.
I'd love to believe that but I don't think the probabilty of that happening is very high.
Kim will do what is in Kim's best interests. And Nifong has seen to it that cooperating with him is in her best interests.
But you're right. This is all speculation.
Perhaps 60 minutes paid her $25,000 debt?
She sure looks happy enough for this to be possible. Do they pay for interviews?
They may not pay for interviews, but they might pay costs of someone agreeing to an interview. In Pittman's [aka Robert's] she might need the debt paid off so that she can speak freely and then get out of dodge. As I remember when the debt is paid, she is off probation or at least off house arrest?
Exactly!
Kim is going to help Nifong.
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