Crystal Mangum Admits to Making Up Claims She Was Raped by Duke Lacrosse Players

‘I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong,’ Crystal Mangum said.

Crystal Mangum addresses the media during a news conference in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 23, 2008. Sara D. Davis/AP Photo

Crystal Mangum, a former exotic dancer who in 2006 accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her, acknowledged for the first time in a new interview that she made up the accusations.

Mangum had said in 2006 that the players—David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann—raped her in a house near Duke’s campus during a team party at which she performed.