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.
They don't deny hollering the N word, but they said they got into a verbal altercation with the women because they were attacking their manhood.
Nope; and he won't turn over the video of her doing it.
That's fine though. The clock starts ticking this morning and now he will be forced by the judge to share everything he's got.
No. It's the 7 minute gap between pictures of her smiling and on the ground.
Why isn't the 27min gap important?....that's when the alledged rape could have occured...
Any parent who declares "my kids will never..." is setting themselves up for disappointment or is in complete denial about reality.
The kids did that all by themselves.
Supposedly the first picture in the sequence show a watch on one of the players' arms and it matches the time on the camera.
Dan Abrams has interviewed the forensic expert who authenticated them.
Rape does not have to occur with the P-n-s. Have you ever heard of a broom stick or lets say LaCross Stick?
I look forward to disclosure. Don't you?
Rita Cosby on MSNBC:
She says the accuser DID identify the boys shortly after the incident at the police station.
_____________________________
The DA was at a forum at NCCU,the accusers college, the day after the DNA came back negative. A women in the audience wanted to know why an arrest was not made considering she knew the accusers family and was told by them that the accuser did ID a player.
The DA's response to the woman in the audience was, 'that is wrong.'
So, I assume at that time this hooker/stripper Crystal did not make the ID.
As a matter of fact, I do.
And I know one fact: you haven't been anywhere near these threads and the only reason you're here today is to make to try to make youself feel important and to make trouble;
That's trolling.
Knock it off.
Momma told me not come!
sorry, couldn't help myself
This is such a travesty.
"You appear to have much unfounded faith in the DA and the police. And little knowledge of the many *facts* that are public about this case. "
I have not placed "faith" in anything, except the understanding that the public is never privy to all the facts in cases like this.
I have read the public releases...but if you think this constitutes the entirety of what is known....then I disagree.
"I think he knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to get re-elected, and is creating a politically charged case to do it."
Oh. So you're a mind-reader. I didn't know that.
I don't have that capability so I tend to wait before I form an opinion.
"Do you have reason to think otherwise? I'd be interested to hear your logic.
Like I said ...I cannot read minds, so I won't pretend to know what the DA is thinking.
"I suggest faith is best left for deities, and not governmental officials."
I always thought mind reading was better left for things like palm readings....or polker.
Thanks for the FYI. More accuracy here on FR than any other news source that I am aware of!
Absolutely.
I bet you they ask for a speedy trial .........I just have this feeling that they want to get on with their lives.
And as far as I am concerned, after today all bets are off and Nifong deserves anything that happens to him.
I do not believe this rumor going around by the press that "Nifong is close to identifying the third suspect."
I think that is Nifong trying to scare them and screaming "Look at me" "Look at me"
We're going to hear some stuff now!
Yes it is!....Unreal!
Interesting that she picked the one with a prior assault charge. What a coincidence. lol
She must not have ID'd anyone right away. Isn't that why it was deemed crucial that every player had to give a DNA sample....except for the one black guy, of course.
No, the legal definition of rape is very clear. Violating someone with a lacrosse stick or something else would be a sick and inhumane crime; however, it would not fit the definition of rape.
Just to clarify - mariabush was complimenting me on a warning (stemming from this case) I gave my college attending son this past weekend. She was not discussing the Duke students' parents, just my parenting. Thank you.
The state of North Carolina can't be happy about this situation. Think about the people and the companies that were considering a move to NC and especially the Durham area. This CANNOT be good for business.
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