Crystal Mangum, who accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006, says she lied

Crystal Mangum, a woman who accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006, said publicly for the first time that she lied about the allegations.

“I falsely testified against them by saying that they had raped me when they hadn’t, and that was false,” Mangum said in an episode of the “Let’s Talk with Kat” podcast, releasing this week became. “And I betrayed the trust of many other people who believed in me.”

The episode was recorded in November at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where Mangum is serving a sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing her boyfriend to death in April 2011.

“I made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God,” Mangum told podcast host Kat DePasquale about the Duke case, “and that was false, even though God had me anyway already loved the way I was.” ”

The Duke case made national headlines after Mangum, a black woman, accused lacrosse players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann of raping her at a party where she was hired as a stripper. This led to the cancellation of the lacrosse team’s 2006 season and Duke forced coach Mike Pressler to resign.

The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office reviewed the case and declared Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann innocent in 2007. The attorney general’s office said the charges should not have been brought against the three players and that there was no DNA or evidence to support the allegations.

District Attorney Mike Nifong was removed from office for ethics violations, including making false statements and lying about withholding evidence. Prosecutors declined to file charges against Mangum on false charges.

Also in 2007, Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann reached an undisclosed settlement with Duke over the school’s handling of the allegations.

“I want them to know that I love them and they don’t deserve this and I hope they can forgive me,” Mangum said of the players.

(Photo of Crystal Mangum in 2011: Chuck Liddy / Raleigh News & Observer / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)