Duke lacrosse accuser writes memoir

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3415717/

Posted: Aug. 21 11:00 p.m.
Updated: 22 minutes ago
Durham, N.C. — The woman at the center of the 2006 scandal that rocked Duke University, Durham and the lives of the three lacrosse players she accused of raping her is coming out with a book.

Crystal Gail Mangum worked as an exotic dancer in March 2006, when she performed at a party hosted by several Duke lacrosse players.

It was at that party, Mangum alleged, that three white members of the team trapped her inside a bathroom and raped and sexually assaulted her. David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were later indicted on the allegations.

The claims also launched a local and national debate about race, politics, ethics and privilege.

Then-District Attorney Mike Nifong dismissed rape charges against the men in December 2006 after Mangum said she was not certain a rape occurred.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed the remaining charges of sexual assault and kidnapping in April 2007 and declared the former players innocent.

Cooper never pursued a case against Mangum, saying she likely believed the allegations.

A divorced mother of three, Mangum hasn't spoken publicly about the case, other than granting a single interview in the early days of the investigation.

"The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story" is scheduled for publication in early October, according to Vincent Clark, a representative for Fire! Products Inc., a film studio that is representing her.

Magnum will donate $1 from the purchase of each book to help battered women, Clark said.

[sciencegirl]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3415717/

Posted: Aug. 21 11:00 p.m.
Updated: 22 minutes ago

I am outraged by this. :madranting94dp: All the money she makes should go to those boys she accused.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3421612/

Durham, N.C. — If Crystal Mangum doesn't admit in her forthcoming memoir that she lied about three Duke University lacrosse players raping her, then she should face civil action, a defense attorney who represented one of the players in the high-profile criminal case said Friday.

"My advice would be that if this book comes out and it contains things that are not true about what happened on that evening … it would be my advice to them to make sure she doesn't make one single penny off of it," Joseph Cheshire, who represented David Evans, said. (Watch Cheshire's full interview.)

But if the book is an account of what happened on the evening of March 13, 2006: "I think it would be fabulous, and I don't think anybody would think badly about her in any way, shape or form," Cheshire said.

Mangum, a divorced mother of three and a student at North Carolina Central University, was at the center of the scandal, which tarnished the reputations of the three men she accused, destroyed the career of a veteran prosecutor and sparked an uproar over race, class and justice.

Her book, "The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story," set to be released in October, is about her life story, the troubles she faces and the decisions she has made, publisher Vincent Clark said Friday. (Read more about the book.)

"Part of this book is a catharsis for her," Clark said. "The book is more about some choices that she's made in her life that she's regretful about."

Other than a single interview granted in the early days of the investigation, Mangum hasn't spoken publicly about what happened at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where the Duke lacrosse team hired Mangum and another dancer to perform at a party.

That night ultimately led to Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann being indicted on charges of rape, sexual assault and kidnapping. More than a year later, on April 11, 2007, North Carolina's attorney general declared them innocent of all wrongdoing and said Mangum likely believed her accusations.

Evans , Finnerty and Seligmann asked that she not be pursued criminally, Cheshire said, because, "We felt sorry for her, and we felt to some degree, she had been victimized by the process."

"We wanted it to be over, and clearly she doesn't want it to be over," Cheshire added.

Other attorneys who represented the three men during the criminal case, as well as attorneys representing them in a federal civil rights lawsuit, declined to comment Friday. The attorney general's office also declined to comment.

Reporter: Cullen Browder
Photographer: Robert Meikle

[SaberGal]

I still can't decide who was the worse offender in this case - her or Nifong....Nifong took an oath, as an officer of the court, which makes me hold him to a higher standard....but her writing a book and possibly profiting off of her false accusations that significantly altered the lives of innocent young men, not to mention was a slap in the face to real victims of rape - there are just no words to adequately describe my disgust for her at this moment....

[wheezer]

I still can't decide who was the worse offender in this case - her or Nifong....Nifong took an oath, as an officer of the court, which makes me hold him to a higher standard....but her writing a book and possibly profiting off of her false accusations that significantly altered the lives of innocent young men, not to mention was a slap in the face to real victims of rape - there are just no words to adequately describe my disgust for her at this moment....

SaberGal I couldn't agree more. I don't care if she has any money or not, I would have went after her as well. She also should have been charged with making false reports. Must be nice to just accuse people of rape and when it is proven it didn't happen, just walk away. No, better yet, write a BOOK!!!! :puke: