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(Durham) Prosecutor (Nifong) Yet to Interview Rape Accuser
Associated Press ^ | October 27, 2006 | Aaron Beard

Posted on 10/27/2006 12:36:17 PM PDT by Arec Barrwin

Prosecutor Yet to Interview Rape Accuser Oct 27 2:56 PM US/Eastern

By AARON BEARD Associated Press Writer

DURHAM, N.C.

The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a woman at a team party said during a court hearing Friday that he still hasn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case.

"I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids," Mike Nifong said. "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

Nifong made the statement in response to a defense request for any statements the woman has made about the case.

"I understand the answer may not be the answer they want but it's the true answer. That's all I can give them," the prosecutor said after the hourlong hearing.

Defense lawyers said outside court that they found Nifong's statement surprising.

"One of the most interesting things to me of course is Mr. Nifong did admit that he in fact has basically never talked to this woman and has absolutely no idea what her story is, and yet he has chosen to continue to go forward with this case," defense lawyer Joseph Cheshire said.

Nifong said none of his assistants have discussed the case with the woman either and only have spoken with her to monitor her well-being. They have left the investigation of the case to police, he said.

Attorneys for indicted player Dave Evans wrote in a letter to Nifong earlier this month that they believed he had talked with the accuser based on a court motion in which Nifong stated the woman told him she had not taken the drug Ecstasy on the night of the March 13 team party for which she was hired to perform as a stripper.

In response to a claim by a lawyer for an unindicted player, Nifong said he called the accuser to ask her whether she had used the drug.

"She said, 'I've never taken Ecstasy,'" Nifong said. "That was the extent of the conversation because that's all I had to know."

Nifong said he met with the accuser and an investigator on April 11, but didn't discuss details of the case because the woman was "too traumatized." Nifong said the woman didn't make eye contact with him and often seemed on the verge of crying. Their discussion centered around how the case would develop, he said.

"She probably did not speak 15 words during the meeting," Nifong said.

Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., was charged in May with rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. A month earlier, a grand jury indicted players Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y., on the same charges. The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at the off-campus party.

The players' lawyers have strongly proclaimed their innocence.


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: duke; dukelax; durham; lacrosse; nifong
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To: Arec Barrwin

I'll bet Nifong, deep down, is thinking a very big "UH OH" right now.


41 posted on 10/27/2006 1:07:25 PM PDT by jazusamo (DIANA IREY for Congress, PA 12th District: Retire murtha.)
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To: johnpannell
"The current governor of North Carolina is a Democrat, and that party is still dominant at the state level. That should say a lot."

Yet we elected two Republican U.S. Senators by large margins in the last two elections. Go figure.

42 posted on 10/27/2006 1:07:58 PM PDT by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: patriot_wes

If I were one of these young men and their families I would be outraged. One of them gave up a job or internship because of these trumped up charges. Their names have been drug through the mud and their lives have been put on hold. I throw Niphong and the tramp in jail and sue til the cows come home. I cna't even imagine how much stress these men and their families have endured. This is total BS!


43 posted on 10/27/2006 1:08:34 PM PDT by LYSandra
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To: leilani

Ruhroh!! ;>)


44 posted on 10/27/2006 1:09:03 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy ("Everyone knows there's a difference between Muslims and terrorists. No one knows what it is, tho...)
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To: leilani

Actually, I think he might be setting up the police...


45 posted on 10/27/2006 1:11:34 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy ("Everyone knows there's a difference between Muslims and terrorists. No one knows what it is, tho...)
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To: leilani
but surely you expect that the accused & their families will be hitting him with civil lawsuits, don't you?

The probably will, but I doubt they'll win them. The truth of the matter is that in this nation, if a DA doens't like you, he can charge you with something and probably get a conviction. And if he knows he can't get a conviction, he can ruin you financially by dragging the trial out. People frequently lose their homes in such cases.
46 posted on 10/27/2006 1:12:14 PM PDT by JamesP81 (Rights must be enforced; rights that you're not allowed to enforce are rights that you don't have.)
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To: teawithmisswilliams
He's stalling because he has NO CASE.

He never did, and he could have dropped it at any time. He kept it going to win the primary, then more facts came out but he kept it going to pass the independent candidate filing date (June 30), and now he's keeping it going until after the election. He's hoping for a graceful way out, to say that, upon further consideration of the facts (like talking to the accuser), he now realizes that there is not enough evidence to prosecute.

It's all been about scaring contenders away and maintaining his viability at the polls.

-PJ

47 posted on 10/27/2006 1:12:43 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (It's still not safe to vote Democrat.)
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To: Arec Barrwin
"I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids," Mike Nifong said. "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

But you were at the perfect stage to arrest the young men you believe raped her?! Incredible.

He's just giving the accuser's atty more time to prep her so she'll sound good in the deposition.

What a load of manure this case is.

48 posted on 10/27/2006 1:13:35 PM PDT by Tamar1973 (We can't be brilliant all the time but the path to conservative brilliance starts at Free Republic!)
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To: CowPalace1964

"Check out some of the child abuse witch-hunts of the 80s/90s. Absolutely chilling."

MEGA DITTOS to that! And there are still some folkls rotting in jail, if I am not mistaken.


49 posted on 10/27/2006 1:14:41 PM PDT by jocon307 (The Silent Majority - silent no longer)
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To: Arec Barrwin

This creep thought that white guilt and black fake-rage would be enough to convict these innocent men. He was wrong.
He bears the responsibility for ruining the lives of these men.
He will never be made to set things right.
The men will bear the burden all their lives.


50 posted on 10/27/2006 1:15:11 PM PDT by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (PC Kills: PC inevitably leads to loss of property and life.)
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To: Arec Barrwin

"I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."



Kalee to Nifong....we passed what should have been "that stage" a LONG time ago.


51 posted on 10/27/2006 1:17:28 PM PDT by kalee
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To: libstripper

Discovery?
BTW: I declare a fatwa on Nifong!


52 posted on 10/27/2006 1:18:21 PM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ("Don't touch that thing")
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To: JamesP81
More often than you know.
My kid was thrown face-down in the hall at high school, marched out of school in hand-cuffs, held in jail for 24 hours, all because the dip-sh*t Dunn County DA forgot to sign a document 3 months before, dismissing a charge. No apology, just a paperwork mistake, little wonder anyone has so little respect for the legal system.
53 posted on 10/27/2006 1:22:08 PM PDT by newcthem (Brought to you by the INFIDEL PARTY)
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To: JamesP81
Oh, I beg to differ with your pessimism there. Too much press attention on this case & too many people who would be expected to defend his suspicious prosecution of this case are now jumping ship. (60 minutes, case in point.)

He knows he's in trouble & he knows he's gonna have to come up with a story for a jury in at the very least a civil court which will explain to them why he was willing to press charges which were obviously bogus from the get go.His defense now: I didn't even bother to interview her so how could I have known her story changed every three days?

I s'pose we'll have to wait to see how this plays out, but, tell ya what, I'll buy ya some of that funky NC BBQ if he doesn't land in at least civil court over this.

54 posted on 10/27/2006 1:25:12 PM PDT by leilani (Dimmi, dimmi se mai fu fatta cosa alcuna!)
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To: jocon307

Wenatchee sex scandal

http://www.ajr.org/article_printable.asp?id=1400


55 posted on 10/27/2006 1:26:11 PM PDT by preacher (A government which robs from Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.)
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To: Arec Barrwin

he is insane. like her memory of what happened is going to get SHARPER and CLEARER as time passes. that's the ticket, mike...


56 posted on 10/27/2006 1:28:47 PM PDT by xsmommy
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To: Ready4Freddy

Oops, sorry I didn't see your response. How do you mean re setting up the police?


57 posted on 10/27/2006 1:34:49 PM PDT by leilani (Dimmi, dimmi se mai fu fatta cosa alcuna!)
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To: Terpin
Not for "no reason". They were persecuted for being rich white kids in a town with a large black population and a prosecutor seeking re-election. If the stripper was white and everything else was the same, Nifong wouldn't have persued it.

Thanks for the reminder to never have any of my kids apply to Duke when they approach college age. If the local crime rate don't get ya, the D.A. will!

58 posted on 10/27/2006 1:36:29 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus Reagan (Pennsylvania-Home of the Flat Tax w/ no deductions)
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To: leilani
As in "hey, i just went by what the police investigators told me"
59 posted on 10/27/2006 1:50:20 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy ("Everyone knows there's a difference between Muslims and terrorists. No one knows what it is, tho...)
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To: xsmommy
He wuz waitin' for her to get her story straight. The longer you wait, and the more versions you tell, the righter and righter it gets!
60 posted on 10/27/2006 1:53:08 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy ("Everyone knows there's a difference between Muslims and terrorists. No one knows what it is, tho...)
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