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.
"Racism" charges against people here tend to push all of us over the edge. If anyone wants to witness true racism, go to Durham and watch the demonstrations in front of the house on Buchanan Street.
I believe you both prefer to provoke & twist words.
LOL
You are bad!!!!
Regarding that e-mail, there was a Time magazine article yesterday that said that defense attorneys say a sting operation was used with that e-mail and that the actual e-mail was sent by the police to all the players. And on MSNBC, someone (Dan Abrams, I think) said the player who presumably sent the e-mail was actually in class the time the e-mail was sent.
@@@@@@
Whew!!! That takes my breath away, and makes my skin crawl. Can I sue somebody for causing me physical and emotional distress? OMG!
Well said.
Asking a question is twisting words?
"Do you want cites for that? "
No, it was all the other stuff you said they didn't have. I was just wondering how you knew there was no hair or fingernail evidence etc since I had not seen the forensics or the medical reports leaked.
Time has run a story saying the email was FAKE? A POLICE STING???? -if true I am really going to get annoyed.
I heard Nancy Grace on Imus, she says the sealed indictments were done as a favor to the Duke men arrested. Another example of white privilege.
She's lost it.
Given the statements made by the first stripper that would seem obvious. I honestly hope these Duke lacrosse players wouldnt have been dumb enough to pull a stunt like that. In this day and age, how can you be dumb enough to even bring in an escort? You're rich, privileged, male, and you put yourself in a compromising position ----you're gonna get sued. What a bunch of damn idiots.
Let me vouch for mariabush - she's top notch, and a long-time Freeper. The charge of racism was, IMHO, uncalled for, and since it hasn't been repeated, probably regretted.
Although we disagree on this one, in no way is maria a "twister of words".
What's not speculation is that no DNA was found anywhere on the accusers body or clothing. None. The DA admits this.
What's not speculation are the 20 photographs taken by players from the moment the accused arrived until the moment she left. The timeline provided in the date/time stamped photographs have been verified by forensics experts and at most give a 7 minute time when players could have raped the accused. 7 minutes.
What's not speculation is that photographs show her leaving the party smiling and talking on her cell phone. But not calling the police, clearly.
What's not speculation is that the photographs show she arrived drunk and bruised.
Carry on.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1184007,00.html
Web Exclusive| Nation
Were Duke Players Victims of an E-Mail Sting?
Where did I say the pills were "from the accuser's purse"? I said no such thing, she had her purse when she left the bathroom, leaving behind the other items I mentioned, including the pills. That was told by police officers and
attorneys who saw the reports. The question was whether they were painkillers or illicit prescription drugs, because they were unmarked and unlabeled. Why would the suspects leave them there? Whey would they leave the cash, the cell phone and the makeup kit if they had something to hide? Those items sat there for two days until they were recovered. The accuser said the items were "stolen" and lied about the amount of cash in the police report, previously linked at this site. You really should read all the facts before you question others.
Are you saying that hiring the 'dancer' had consequences that they should expect and just accept? Being tried for rape, kidnapping, and assault based on so little "evidence" is a consequence that no one should have to face.
Hello?????
The DA admits they have no DNA. None. DNA isn't just semen. It's hair, saliva, etc. There is no evidence of a condom being used. There is no DNA. I don't know how to make it any clearer.
This is the Time magazine article:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1616244/posts
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