Second dancer: I didn't see a rape
By John Stevenson, The Herald-Sun
October 12, 2006 9:40 pm
DURHAM -- The second dancer at a Duke lacrosse team party told CBS' "60 Minutes" she didn't see three players rape another dancer, a source close to the program said Thursday.
The second dancer, Kim Roberts Pittman, long ago characterized the rape allegations as "a crock."
But in an April interview with The Associated Press, Pittman said she at first doubted the accuser's story, then changed her mind.
"I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can't say a rape occurred -- and I never will," Pittman said in the interview earlier this year.
But she added, "In all honesty, I think they're guilty."
Pittman didn't use the "crock" comment with "60 Minutes" interviewer Ed Bradley for the show to air at 7 p.m. Sunday. The show appears locally on WRAL. But she did cast doubt on the accuser's version of events, the source said.
"She tried to play it down the middle," the source added. "She tried not to offer an opinion as to whether it was a crock. She wants the viewers to decide. But she says she didn't witness any rape. She wants to set the record straight on some things [the alleged victim] has said. She doesn't know whether a rape occurred. She just knows some of the things [the accuser] alleged to have happened did not happen."
In an excerpt of the Bradley interview provided by "60 Minutes," accused lacrosse player David Evans discusses the potential consequences he faces:
ED BRADLEY: "Do you ever think that if this -- if this does go to trial, that if you're convicted, you could face a lot of time in prison? Do you ever think about that?"
DAVID EVANS: "Would you?"
ED BRADLEY: "Sure."
DAVID EVANS: "Thirty years. I could go to jail for something that never happened."
The accuser, an exotic dancer, contends Evans and two other Duke lacrosse players raped and sodomized her during the party, held the night of March 13-14 at a 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. house across from Duke's East Campus.
Pittman did not arrive with the accuser, but was present during the time of the alleged rape. She also drove the alleged victim away from the party afterward.
Evans' co-defendants in the case are Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. They all say they are innocent, and all are free under $100,000 bonds as they await a trial that is expected to occur next year.
All three will appear on the coming "60 Minutes" broadcast.
A source close to the program said the suspects "tell us what they can, and they characterize the evening."
Seligmann's lawyers already have said he has an ironclad alibi: taxicab, telephone and bank ATM records indicating he was elsewhere when the rape allegedly occurred.
In addition to the three defendants and Pittman, Duke President Richard Brodhead was interviewed for the CBS show, a source said.
Duke would not divulge what Brodhead had to say to the television magazine. John Burness, Duke senior vice president for public affairs and government relations, said the university's policy is not to tell one media outlet what was discussed with another news organization.
Among those not interviewed about the case were defense lawyers, District Attorney Mike Nifong and the actual accuser, the source said.
The defense team and Nifong were barred by rules a judge imposed on their public comments about the case. The rules were changed last month and do not apply to the defendants or other non-lawyers.
A source close to "60 Minutes" said the show contacted the alleged rape victim, but that Nifong had told her not to grant an interview.
Nifong was at an out-of-town professional conference Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
A CBS new release Thursday said Pittman's answer to Bradley's question directly contradicts a crucial statement the accuser gave to police.
Bradley asks whether Pittman -- who goes by the stage name "Nikki" when she performs -- was holding onto the accuser at the beginning of the alleged attack.
"In the police statement, [the accuser] describes the rape in this way: 'Three guys grabbed Nikki. Brett, Adam and Matt grabbed me. They separated us at the master bedroom door while we tried to hold on to each other. Brett, Adam and Matt took me into the bathroom.'
"Were you holding on to each other? Were you pulled apart?"
"Nope," replies Pittman, who says she was hearing the account for the first time.
Pittman also denies the accuser's statement to the police that after the alleged rape, Pittman came into the bathroom and helped one of the rapists dress her.
When pressed by Bradley about whether she saw signs of rape from the accuser, such as complaining about pain or a mention of an assault, Pittman says, "She obviously wasn't hurt ... because she was fine."
Neither Durham Mayor Bill Bell nor City Manager Patrick Baker was interviewed for the television investigative report.
Baker said he will be interested to see what new details the show brings to light, but he doesn't believe the Durham Police Department's work on the case should be second-guessed if new statements contradict previous ones.
"If the dancer says one thing to our officers and another to '60 Minutes,' it raises questions about her credibility and the credibility of the entire case," Baker said.
"The Police Department is at the whim of the evidence given to them. ... If people have given the Durham Police Department the wrong information, it's certainly going to affect the DA's ability to prosecute the case."
But, he cautioned, "Keep in mind these men were indicted by a grand jury. ... It wouldn't be the first time an indictment has occurred based on information that is later proven to be false. I think justice needs to be served. I don't want anyone to go through indictments when they're innocent. If the witness or the victim is not telling the truth, that's going to come out."
Sunday's broadcast will differ from most "60 Minutes" presentations in that two out of three segments will deal with the Duke lacrosse case. Normally, each segment is on a different topic.
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Cheek urges students to vote
By GREGORY PHILLIPS, The Herald-Sun
October 12, 2006 11:20 pm
DURHAM -- Insisting he wasn't campaigning for district attorney, Lewis Cheek appeared Thursday evening at a student voter registration drive at Duke University and spoke to a crowd of students hoping to hurl Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong out of office.
Cheek, whose name is on the ballot but says he won't serve if elected, urged about 100 students assembled on the new plaza outside the Bryan Student Center on West Campus to vote Nov. 7.
But he stopped short of telling them how to vote.
"What you should do is whatever you think is the right thing to do," Cheek said.
But if students want the governor to appoint the next DA, as would occur if Cheek wins but doesn't serve, "then you need to vote for Lewis Cheek and to make sure I get the most votes," the 50-year-old county commissioner added.
Nifong has drawn fire for his handling of rape charges against three Duke lacrosse players. He won the Democratic primary in May and had no opposition in November, until a petition put Cheek's name on the ballot.
Steve Monks, chairman of the Durham County Republican Party, also is running, as a write-in candidate. He wasn't invited to speak at Thursday's event, but showed up to hear what Cheek had to say.
"I want to see the definition of not campaigning," Monks said. Afterward, he said he had no problem with Cheek's remarks.
"He did mention my candidacy," Monks said. "That was a pleasant concession to the realities of the campaign."
In his gray suit, Cheek stood out at the spirited event as he walked among the sports gear-clad students wandering around in sandals to booming urban music.
Lacrosse players cooked chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers that were given free to students registering to vote, while team supporters sold lacrosse T-shirts and wristbands. Signs plugging the event had fliers attached reading, "Duke University takes no position on the viewpoints expressed at this event."
Cheek was invited to the event through the "Recall Nifong -- Vote Cheek" committee by one of the organizing groups, Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, which has been registering voters for the election since the school year began.
Christiane Regelbrugge, one of that group's founders, said the goal is registering 1,000 students to vote before today's 5 p.m. deadline.
"We're looking to ensure whoever does end up in that office is someone who will treat all Durham residents with respect," she said.
Monks said the students are misdirecting their energy, with the Cheek campaign splitting the anti-Nifong vote and all but guaranteeing a Nifong win. If Cheek's campaign is successful, the governor has no motivation to appoint anyone who won't see the case through because he'd want to avoid the political heat, according to Monks.
After his speech, Cheek said he wasn't violating a pledge he made when announcing he wouldn't run that he wouldn't campaign.
"I'm saying the same thing now that I said then, which is that you should do what you think is the right thing to do," Cheek said.
He added that he's accepted invitations to speak at a "flurry" of events before the election and will push the same message.
Cheek also dismissed rumors that he would accept the office if he wins -- although he admitted he might be tempted, if only for a second or two.
"Maybe, but I won't take it," he said. "I just couldn't do it."
Nifong was out of town and couldn't be reached for comment. Some good news for his campaign Thursday was the announcement that he had retained the endorsement of the People's Alliance of Durham's political action committee since the primary.
"We saw no reason to second-guess our previous endorsement," said Milo Pyne, co-coordinator of the committee. "It's not just about this case, it's about his 28 years of service in the prosecutors' office and his whole approach to things."
Pyne said the committee took a dim view of Cheek's approach.
"We feel if he wanted to run, he should have done so as a Democrat," Pyne said.
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