Posted on 03/31/2006 8:03:52 PM PST by Howlin
DURHAM, N.C. - The father of the woman who has accused members of the Duke lacrosse team of sexually assaulting her said he didn't find out that his daughter was the reported victim - and that she is an exotic dancer - until a reporter visited his house.
The retired trucker who lives in Durham said he saw his daughter the day after the reported attack, but she didn't say anything was wrong. She even left her car at the house for several days because he said she didn't want to drive it.
Her father, a quiet man who tinkers on cars as a hobby, said he saw news reports about the attack.
"I didn't know it was my daughter," he said. The Charlotte Observer generally does not name victims of sexual assault, so his name is being withheld to protect the identity of his daughter.
The case has ignited campus protests and stirred racial tension in Durham. The woman at the center of the case is black, and the men she accuses are white. She also is a student at N.C. Central University, a historically black college near Durham's inner-city, compared with the more expensive Duke campus.
DNA tests have been conducted on 46 of the lacrosse players, who deny the allegations. A 47th member, who is black, was not tested because the woman said her attackers were white.
Last week, a reporter stopped by the reported victim's house looking for her, the woman's father said, but he said he didn't know what was going on. He called his daughter and she said the district attorney told her not talk to anyone.
"(She) didn't tell us anything about it," he said.
He said he also found out through the media that his daughter, who is the youngest of three, was an exotic dancer.
"She always told me she was going to work," he said.
On Friday, he installed a timing belt in a car and watched his daughter's two children play outside the house. He said working on cars and playing with the grandchildren helps take his mind off what's happening with his daughter.
He said she seems to be doing "pretty good," and so is the rest of the family. He said they haven't talked much about the reported incident, but it weighs heavily on his mind. He said he's grateful that N.C. Central has been so supportive, but he doesn't like how his daughter has been portrayed in the media. And he's especially frustrated that no one has been charged in the connection with the allegations.
"If it had been anybody but them, they would have been locked up, but yet they didn't because it's Duke," he said. "I hope them boys - if they did it - I hope they get what they deserve. I hope they don't go lenient on them."
District Attorney Michael Nifong said he's waiting for results of the DNA test and that he does not expect to file charges in the case any earlier than next week.
Did police or Heroic District Attorney consider any of these angles at all?
you're right!
maybe lacrosse players are very small, and they ran along behind the low stone wall in front of the house, so that no one saw them.
maybe i'll send this theory to the DA--it could help his case.
At best the writing is ambiguous. Thanks for pointing it out.
What's the best way to get out of a prostitution charge in a case like this, claim rape.
Rape victims are protected beyond a reasonable standard IMO. The presence of drugs or alcohol intoxication means nothing if a woman claims rape. For all we know she was having hallucinations from drugs but for the cops to even suggest her claim may be based on drugs would have the FemiNazi's calling for their castration.
You've got to walk a very fine line when investigating rape allegations.
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Of course it isn't. But I would submit that we might consider that Heroic District Attorney thought he had a sexy slamdunk case because of the presence of DNA evidence but then a pesky problem turned up in that it didn't match any of the pre-selected perps.
If it turns out that such evidence came from an EARLIER client that was unconnected to the lacrosse team after H-D-A had gone public about how he was gonna take down these evil college boys, well, crank up the spin machine.
Does anyone have info about the 2nd dancer that was hired from a different escort service? Was she black or white? I ask, not only because little has been said about her presence there, but also because the voice on the 1st phone call sounded white and she said something about "I and my black girl friend...."
i was also thinking about physical injuries. if she was raped and beaten up, would the police take photos of her?
wouldn't the medical report detail the injuries?
They may have watched a lot of NYPD Blue or Law and Order type shows. The detectives tell the suspects/witnesses to tell them all they know, that they'll help them out, etc....
You'd sure think so. That's Investigating 101 isn't it? By this time in across the country there must be a pretty standardized format for such cases.
Fox reporting threats have been made to SHOOT the players!
Am glad that you heard the 911 outtake. You are the only one I've seen mention anything about the other girl's words on the call.
i'm wondering about the DA's decision to go ahead with a rape case. even if he is desperate to win his election, wouldn't a DA be a little sceptical about a rape allegation made by a prostitute who was on drugs?
i would think he would only want to go ahead with the case (in terms of getting DNA evidence, etc) if he already had some good evidence besides the alleged victim's story.
why would a DA risk his campaign on this case unless there was already some convincing physical evidence that a rape occurred?
i don't mean that the DA is right about the lacross team committing the rape; i just mean that there must be some physical evidence that a rape occurred at some point in the evening.
I would get those kids out of there ASAP
ABRAMS: Joining me now for an exclusive interview are two of the attorneys who are representing two of the co-captains in this case. There has been a lot of talk about the allegations. There‘s been a lot of frustration and anger at Duke University. We have not heard a whole lot from the other side. And again, no one has been charged in this case yet, but the D.A. did tell us that he is convinced that a rape was committed.
We‘re joined now by Kerry Sutton, attorney for team co-captain Matt Zash and James “Butch” Williams, attorney for co-captain Daniel Flannery. Thanks very much for coming on the program. We appreciate it.
All right, Mr. Williams, let me start with you. The first question that I think is the most obvious one is was your client at this party that has become the subject of all this controversy?
JAMES “BUTCH” WILLIAMS, ATTY FOR DUKE LACROSSE CAPT. DANIEL FLANNERY:
Well, everyone that they took DNA from presumably was in fact at the party.
There‘s been no denying that they were present at the party.
ABRAMS: Ms. Sutton, would you agree with that, that your client, as well, was at this party?
KERRY SUTTON, ATTY FOR DUKE LACROSSE CAPT. MATT ZASH: My client was at the party and he is one of the residents of that house.
ABRAMS: OK. Question two: There‘s been a lot of talk about not cooperating. Mr. Sutton, has your client, in addition to giving DNA, which was actually court ordered, has your client agreed to answer questions from the police?
SUTTON: My client has given a written statement, an oral statement. He volunteered to take a polygraph, but the police said no, thanks. That‘s too much trouble. He has been entirely cooperative, followed every piece of advice he‘s been given, and I can‘t say—I can‘t see where it‘s coming from in relation to my client that he‘s not being cooperative.
ABRAMS: Mr. Williams, what about your client?
WILLIAMS: Let me just say this. For the record and that‘s part of the reason why we‘re standing here. It‘s not normal, not for me, to give interviews prior to either charges or the case being adjudicated, but we just feel compelled at this particular time to set some of the record straight in this matter. First off, Ms. Sutton‘s client, my client, and another young man went forward voluntarily and gave complete statements to the police, as well as voluntarily, without the advice of counsel at that point, voluntarily came forward with their—and succumb to DNA testing. So when someone tells you that they did not cooperate, that‘s just absolutely false.
ABRAMS: All right. Now, let me understand the position of your clients, because there was a statement that was released, jointly, from the co-captains of the team who are saying that the DNA will prove that they did not commit any sort of crime here. Does that mean, Mr. Williams, that no one in that house had sex with the woman who is making these accusations?
WILLIAMS: That‘s absolutely correct. And they have said, from day one, that no one in the house had sex with that particular young lady and that they all categorically deny to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that any sexual activity occurred other than her dancing.
ABRAMS: All right. So Ms. Sutton, so there‘s not going to be a claim that there may have been consensual sex, et cetera, and so if they found DNA that they would be able to say later, well you know yes, we had sex, but she had agreed to it. The claim of your clients and Mr. Williams‘ client is that they and no one else in that house, as far as they know, had sex with the woman involved?
SUTTON: My client certainly denies that he had sex of any kind with this alleged victim, and to his knowledge, nobody at all at the house had sex with any of the women who were there.
ABRAMS: And Ms. Sutton, was your client one of the people who was renting the house?
SUTTON: Yes, he was.
ABRAMS: And Mr. Williams, your client as well?
WILLIAMS: Yes. The same. He was a resident of the house.
ABRAMS: So presumably if something had happened in the house, one of your clients would have known about it, correct?
WILLIAMS: Absolutely.
SUTTON: You would think so.
ABRAMS: And so what is their reaction to everything that is going on here?
I mean they are eagerly awaiting the DNA results?
WILLIAMS: That‘s the first step. But they‘re early awaiting exoneration and clearing of their good name, is what they‘re eagerly awaiting.
ABRAMS: What about...
WILLIAMS: It‘s been a traumatic experience—let me just finish...
ABRAMS: Yes, please...
WILLIAMS: It‘s been a traumatic experience not just for them, but for the university, for the city of Durham, as well as for the parents of these young men. So you know if anyone thinks anyone is taking this lightly, much to the contrary.
ABRAMS: All right, Mr. Williams, you‘ve made some comments about a 911-call that was presumably made an hour before this incident. I want to play the 911-call and then I want to talk to you about it. Here it is.
WILLIAMS: Go ahead.
(BEGIN 911 CALL)
911 DISPATCHER: Durham 911. Where is your emergency?
CALLER: I don‘t know if this is an emergency, but I‘m in Durham and I was driving down near Duke‘s campus and it‘s me and my black girlfriend and the guy, there‘s like a white guy by the Duke wall and he just hollered out (BEEP) to me and I‘m just so angry. I saw them all come out like a big frat house and me and my black girlfriend are walking by and they called us (BEEP). I‘m not going to press the issue I guess, but I live in a neighborhood where they wrote KKK on the side of a white station wagon and that‘s near right where I‘m at. They didn‘t harm me in any way, but I just feel so completely offended.
(END 911 CALL)
ABRAMS: And Mr. Williams, as you know, a neighbor had also claimed that he heard one of the young men in the house yelling at the women who were African American, thank your grandfather for my cotton shirt.
WILLIAMS: Well, I hadn‘t heard—I hadn‘t seen that. There‘s a lot of scuttle but—going around about this and about that. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) You listen to the tape and listen to the discrepancies in the tape, first I was driving by, then I was walking by, and if you go ahead to the second tape that gave the address. You can‘t—there‘s no numbers on that particular house. You know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) goes by there, they can‘t tell what house it was or the house next door...
ABRAMS: We‘re showing the...
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: We‘re showing the picture right now. Go ahead.
WILLIAMS: There‘s no numbers on that particular house. So anyone—and that‘s in the daytime. So anyone looking at that house at night could not be able to identify numerically what number is on that house, unless they‘ve been there. Is this a product of a setup? Those are things that we‘re going to be able to determine and ferret out in the shortcoming or in the shortcoming time that the investigators, private investigators are investigating this particular matter.
ABRAMS: So Mr. Williams, let me just understand what you‘re saying. You‘re saying that you think it‘s possible that the woman who made that 911 call made it an hour before the incident as part of a plan to later make accusations against these young men? So they get someone to call 911, say that there were racially charge statements made, then the women go into the house, they come out, they make the allegations. You‘re saying this may have all been part of a concerted plot?
WILLIAMS: Certainly seems kind of pat to me.
ABRAMS: What do you mean by that?
WILLIAMS: That it‘s all contrived.
ABRAMS: You mean...
WILLIAMS: Where is the young lady? Why—let me ask you this. Why hasn‘t the person who made that call come forward? I mean it‘s been in all of the news outlets, all in the news—the news media has printed it. Why haven‘t they come forward to say yes, I made that 911 call that night. And why was a certain emphasis on me and my black friend. I mean people don‘t call and make—make phone calls like that. This—we‘re going to get to the bottom of what the motives are in this particular matter.
ABRAMS: So it sounds like you‘re saying you think it might have been one of the women involved here making the call?
WILLIAMS: Oh, OK. Now you‘re starting to see where I‘m going.
ABRAMS: All right. There are various attorneys who are representing players on the team. Can you give me a sense, do you know, Ms. Sutton, how many attorneys are representing the various players on the team?
SUTTON: Right now, as far as we know, there—besides Mr. Williams and I there‘s Joe Chesser (ph) is representing one out of Raleigh. Wade Smith I understand is going to represent another player. He is out of Raleigh. Bob Ekstrand, of course, here in Durham, is at this time is representing many of the team members and there‘s, I believe, one other attorney that we‘re aware of, who‘s representing one other player. But there—they may have made contacts that we‘re not aware of.
ABRAMS: Ms. Sutton, is your client still going to classes, et cetera?
SUTTON: He is. He was at class this morning.
ABRAMS: And Mr. Williams, yours as well, because there was talk of, you know look, when you‘ve got all their pictures up around campus, people saying come forward, come forward, there was talk of possible harassment.
WILLIAMS: As tenuous and as hostile as you may think it is, there are a lot of people that have total support of these young men, as well as they are still trying to graduate and have classes that they must attend.
ABRAMS: Ms. Sutton, I‘ve heard Mr. Williams talk about some of the theories about what may have happened. Can you tell us at least from your client‘s perspective, what happened at that party?
SUTTON: My client knows what happened inside his room, because that‘s where he was most of the evening. Other than that, would be sheer speculation, and unlike some other folks, I‘m not willing to engage in speculation.
ABRAMS: All right. Well, Mr. Williams, what about your client? Can you tell us what his take is on what happened at that party?
WILLIAMS: He‘s told me he‘s totally shocked and appalled that these allegations have even been lodged, because in his heart of hearts and in his mind he knows that the allegations are false.
ABRAMS: But she was—I mean what about the allegation that she left the house, that they then came back into the house, were convinced to come back, et cetera?
WILLIAMS: OK. That I‘m not going to comment on, because that didn‘t have anything to do with the second part of what may have occurred in the alleged attack.
ABRAMS: Right. All right, if I could ask you both just to stick around just for a couple of minutes. I want to take a quick commercial break, just got a couple of more questions for you. Duke student body president is going to join us as well.
I agree with you.
I suppose I was thinking of this situation considering my personal knowledge of the law.
If one knows the law, there is no need for a lawyer at this point. Simply tell the cops you didn't see anything and you didn't do anything unlawful. If they ask you to answer any other questions, simply tell them to either show you a search warrant, an arrest warrant; or get off of my property, this convewrsation is over. If they threaten you with arrest for obstruction, tell them to go ahead and that you hope they have a lot of assets, because you are going to own them.
See post 160
With this kind of escalation of danger to the coach and the players, the DA is waiting until April 10th to do anything? How's that for being a conscientious public SERVANT.
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