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.
I'll bet Nifong, deep down, is thinking a very big "UH OH" right now.
Yet we elected two Republican U.S. Senators by large margins in the last two elections. Go figure.
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!
Ruhroh!! ;>)
Actually, I think he might be setting up the police...
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
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.
"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.
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.
"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.
Discovery?
BTW: I declare a fatwa on Nifong!
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.
Wenatchee sex scandal
http://www.ajr.org/article_printable.asp?id=1400
he is insane. like her memory of what happened is going to get SHARPER and CLEARER as time passes. that's the ticket, mike...
Oops, sorry I didn't see your response. How do you mean re setting up the police?
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!
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