WASHINGTON — Crystal Mangum, the former exotic dancer who falsely accused three Duke men's lacrosse players of rape in 2006, now says she lied about the incident and hopes they can forgive her.
“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong. And I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” Mangum explained in an interview for the web show “Let’s Talk with Kat,” hosted by Katerena DePasquale.
The interview took place at North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where Mangum is serving time for second-degree murder in the 2011 stabbing death of her boyfriend.
“I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me and made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God,” Mangum said to DePasquale.
Mangum's admission comes nearly two decades after she said she was raped by former Duke players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann at an off-campus house during a team party where she had been hired to perform.
The case caught the nation's attention, as the coach was forced to resign and the university canceled the remainder of the team's lacrosse season.
The three players arrested were eventually declared innocent by then-North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is now the state's governor, based on a lack of evidence and inconsistencies in the accuser’s accounts. The Durham prosecutor, Mike Nifong, who championed Mangum's case, was later disbarred.
Cooper explained at the time that no charges would be brought against Mangum, saying she "may actually believe" the many different stories she told.
According to the Duke student newspaper, The Chronicle, this is the first time Mangum has publicly stated her 2006 rape claims weren't true.
The former lacrosse players reached an undisclosed settlement with Duke University in 2007 after suing it for the handling of the rape allegations.
Durham-based podcaster Kat DePasquale said she wrote to Mangum because she was curious about the case that got so much attention, and that Mangum wrote back saying she wanted to talk.
"I hope that they can forgive me and I want them to know that I love them and they didn't deserve that," Mangum said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
