Woman who falsely accused Duke University Lacrosse Players of 2006 rape confesses

DURHAM, NC - A confession was made this week by Crystal Mangum, a North Carolina woman convicted of murdering her boyfriend in March 2011. Mangum also made the claim from prison that three Duke University Lacrosse players raped her while she performed as a stripper in March 2006. This week, Mangum confessed that her allegations against the players were false during a podcast appearance Thursday.

As reported by Fox News, Mangum, 46, spoke with host Katerena DePasquale of "Let's Talk With Kat" Thursday and revealed to the former model, “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. [I] made up a story that wasn't true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”

Mangum asked the three men she accused 18 years ago for forgiveness on the show. “I hope that they can forgive me,” she said, calling them her “brothers” in the Christian sense. “I want them to know that I love them, and they didn’t deserve that, and I hope that they can forgive me.”

DePasquale wrote in a note to her audience attached to the segment, “When I reached out to Crystal, she responded with a letter expressing her desire to participate and share something important. We filmed the interview at NCCIW on November 13th. I was struck by her openness and thoughtful honesty—qualities I found deeply relatable. By the end, Crystal shared something significant and vulnerable, despite the risks involved. I admire her courage and hope you will too.”

Mangum's accusations against David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann resulted in the arrest of the three Duke University students and a firestorm of national media coverage, which led to the Duke team canceling its season, as well as racial division.

As noted by the New York Post, former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong painted the alleged attack in a starkly racist manner, telling CBS News in a 2006 interview, “there’s no doubt a sexual assault took place,” and describing the falsely alleged attack as “racially motivated.”

“The circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done," he added. "It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive even more so.”

All three men were exonerated, however, Mangum was not charged for perjury on the basis that her mental health was in question. Former North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper claimed in 2006, “She may have actually believed the many different stories that she has been telling.”

Nifong would later retract his inflammatory statements when DNA evidence conclusively proved the men innocent.

More than 18 years after the Duke lacrosse allegations, Crystal Mangum admits that she made it all up.
"I testified falsely against [the lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn't...I made up a story that wasn't true...I hope that they can forgive me." pic.twitter.com/3yMjbQTQXH

— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) December 12, 2024

Mangum is currently serving a 14-18-year sentence for first-degree murder and two counts of larceny in connection to the death of her boyfriend Reginald Daye. The two-year statute of limitations for perjury in North Carolina expired long ago in this case, preventing Mangum's prosecution.