RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The girl who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke College lacrosse gamers of raping her – making nationwide headlines that stirred tensions about race, class and the privilege of school athletes — has admitted publicly for the primary time that she made up the story.
Crystal Mangum, who’s Black, stated in an interview with the “Let’s Talk with Kat” podcast that she “made up a story that wasn’t true” concerning the white gamers who attended a celebration the place she was employed to carry out as a stripper “because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”
“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong,” Mangum, 46, stated within the interview, which was launched Monday. The interview was recorded final month on the North Carolina Correctional Establishment for Girls, the place Mangum is incarcerated for fatally stabbing her boyfriend in 2011.
The previous Duke gamers had been declared harmless in 2007 after Mangum’s story fell aside below authorized scrutiny.
The state lawyer normal’s workplace concluded there was no credible proof an assault ever occurred, and its investigation discovered no DNA, witness or different proof to substantiate Mangum’s story.
The Durham prosecutor who championed Mangum’s case was disbarred for mendacity and misconduct. Prosecutors on the time declined to press fees in opposition to Mangum for the false accusations.
Mangum, who was convicted of second-degree homicide in 2013 and is eligible to be launched from jail as early as 2026, advised the podcast interviewer that she hopes the three falsely accused males can forgive her.
“I want them to know that I love them and they didn’t deserve that,” she stated.
Durham-based podcaster Kat DePasquale stated she wrote to Mangum as a result of she was curious concerning the case that obtained a lot consideration, and that Mangum wrote again saying she needed to speak.
