Duke lacrosse accuser admits she made up story in podcast interview

The woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her in 2006, leading to a legal case that became a firestorm in media circles, has publically admitted for the first time that she made up the story.

Crystal Mangum appeared on the Let’s Talk with Kat podcast with host Katerena DePasquale and admitted that she “made up a story that wasn’t true” about the lacrosse players at a party that she was hired to work 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,” said Mangum, now 46.

The interview was recorded at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women last month. She was sentenced to 14 to 18 years in prison for stabbing her boyfriend Reginald Daye in 2011.

Mangum’s rape accusations kicked off a story that garnered extensive media coverage and debate over the various issues that intersected with the case, including race, class, wealth inequality, sex work, and the politicization of the justice system. The remainder of Duke’s lacrosse season was canceled and head coach Mike Pressler resigned. After it became clear District Attorney Mike Nifong had conspired with a DNA lab director to withhold evidence that would have cleared the lacrosse players, coupled with questions about Mangum’s credibility, the case was dismissed in 2007.

In 2016, ESPN’s 30 for 30 series released Fantastic Lies, a documentary about the case and its aftermath.

Mangum told DePasquale that she hoped the three men she accused could forgive her.

“I want them to know that I love them, and they didn’t deserve that,” she said.

[ESPN/AP, Let’s Talk With Kat]