Posted on 04/18/2006 3:26:57 AM PDT by Mad-Margaret
DURHAM -- A day after a grand jury indicted two Duke University lacrosse players in connection with a reported rape, two men emerged from a sheriff's deputy vehicle and were led, handcuffed, into the magistrates office at the Durham County Jail at 4:54 a.m. today.
The arrests stem from a party that began March 13. The accuser, who is a mother of two, an N.C. Central University student and an escort service dancer, told police March 14 that she was sexually assaulted by three men in a bathroom at an off-campus house shared by three lacrosse team captains. The accuser is black; she said her rapists were white.
Defense lawyers said players maintained that there was no sex at all. They said the accuser concocted the story, that she was drunk and injured late March 13 when she arrived at the three-bedroom house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
"... Two young men have been charged with crimes they did not commit. This is a tragedy," Bob Ekstrand, who represents team players, said Monday in a prepared statement. "For the two young men, an ordeal lies ahead. They do not face it alone; they face it with the love of family and friends and strengthened by the truth. They are both innocent."
Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens sealed a manila envelope containing the indictments shortly after the grand jury finished its business Monday. The judge cited a state law that requires everyone involved in a case, including witnesses, to keep the indictment secret until a suspect is arrested.
Last month, a judge ordered DNA tests on the team's 46 white players; he excluded the only black team member. The players' attorneys say the tests showed none of the players' genetic material on or in the woman.
Nifong, bolstered by a medical exam that found injuries on the woman consistent with sexual assault, says he is confident that she was assaulted in the university-owned house. Nifong said last week at a forum at NCCU that the accuser identified at least one of her attackers.
Until Sunday night, the only other witness, the second woman hired to dance at the party, had remained silent. In television interviews, she told her story.
The woman's attorney, Mark Simeon of Durham, declined Monday to make her available for an interview. She spoke on the MSNBC cable news network, which did not identify her and showed her in silhouette. Simeon confirmed that it was his client on MSNBC.
The woman told MSNBC that she did not witness a rape and does not know whether one occurred.
The woman said she arrived thinking that she would be dancing at a bachelor party of 15 people. She was not expecting a party of lacrosse players, many of whom she said were in a drunken stupor. The woman said she was infuriated to learn that some players photographed her dancing.
The accuser did not appear to be on drugs or to have been drinking when she arrived, the second dancer said. She was "absolutely fine and in control of herself."
When the accuser left, less than an hour after she arrived, she was incoherent and stumbling, the second dancer said.
"She couldn't really walk on her own," the woman said. "She really couldn't get her thoughts together enough to answer any questions. ... She was a different person than I met at the beginning."
The second woman said she was the person who called 911 as the party was breaking up, to complain that some lacrosse players had used racial slurs. "The boys hollered the 'N' word," she said. "I was upset and called 911."
She said she pretended to be a passer-by because she didn't want people in her life to know about her job as an escort service dancer.
It is unclear how that woman's story would affect the case. Players' attorneys have said she would only help them. By day's end Monday, Nifong left without talking to reporters; it remains unclear what evidence he has.
Throughout Monday, there were many more reporters on the sixth floor of the courthouse than the 18 members of the grand jury panel. Reporters tracked the district attorney's movements in minute detail. Just after noon, Nifong emerged from his office and walked across the hallway to the bathroom.
Reporters surrounded the bathroom door in a crowd that included five television cameras, three still photographers, sound men with boom microphones and at least a dozen print reporters. At the sound of flushing, the group tensed, raised cameras and prepared. Nifong did not emerge with news.
"I no longer get to go anywhere in my community without people knowing who I am," said Nifong, who faces two challengers in a primary election May 2. Staff writer Anne Blythe can be reached at 932-8741 or ablythe@newsobserver.com.
" Maybe Nifong can help OJ find the real killer, too..."
Mark Geragos was never able to locate Donnie in the white van when he was defending Scott Peterson......Hmmmm
Don't have cable. What is hew saying?
I used to feel sorry for her--the murder of her fiance is why she became a prosecutor.
Then she opened her mouth and started talking,LOL!
The $2000 was mentioned in the Durham police media information sheet. The $400 is mentioned in the affidavits for the search warrant and in the return of the search warrant.
Except in the Kobe Bryant case every word that came out of his mouth was a lie. And the timeline supported the victim.
Rita asked him if the girl has identified the third boy and he said, "Has she positively identified anybody?"
He's a local private investigator and he said they could prove they weren't there.
And is there not some sort of probable cause showing in which both sides can participate?
Sorry?
BTW, Mickey Shermann just called these "the traditional rape charges"............LOL.
This is reminding me of the SNL skit the Saturday before the O.J. verdict and ther song and dance routine about the prosecution playing 'the fact card' v. the 'race card' played by Cochran.
I belive (from MSM reports) that there is significant ~support~ for the team on campus. I've got a feeling there will be a hell of a lot more after another DPD dorm invasion, especially when it is perceived as a fishing expedition.
Notin NC. Here's a quote, "There is no adversarial hearing short of trial," according to a NC attorney with Abrams today.
Oh, dear, this goober is blowing the case...he said she had done this before and was prepared for big crowds..........LOL.
This guy is right out of Lil Abner!
This Kim doesn't even know Crystal...Crystal may have been doing drugs in the bathroom for all she knows..
Did Rita Cosby just say that while she was being raped she was calling on the cellphone?
Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.
City is going to have a huge civil rights claim when this is over. Why are they searching after the indictment? Should have probable cause prior to going to grand jury and enough evidence to likely prevail in a trial. It is especially bad because the defendants offered proof of innocence and the DA wouldn't even look at it.
I was asking about probable cause hearings in relation to arrest before going to the indicting GJ in response to your statement, "She came right out yesterday and said that as long as she'd been in Durham County she's never seen anything handled like this; she said they usually arrest them and then go to the Grand Jury."
It's that I'm finding it hard to believe that there is no process by which the defense has no opportunity to present exculpatory evidence in relation to probable cause before going straight to trial.
Well, Rita, too, is blown away that they paid their bail in full..................LOL.
They searched the dorms again tonight?
A ping in case anybody is looking for today's thread -- we're stuck back in Chat!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.