Thursday, June 8, 2006
2nd Dancer: Rape Allegations a 'Crock'
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - The second stripper at a Duke University lacrosse team party told police early in the investigation that she had been with a woman most of the night who accused team members of raping her and that the charges were a ``crock,'' according to a court filing Thursday.
The statement by Kim Roberts is cited in a filing by lawyers for Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Falls, N.J., one of three team members charged with rape in the case.
According to a March 20 statement written by Durham Police Investigator Benjamin Himan that is attached to the filing, Roberts ``stated that she heard that (the accuser) was sexually assaulted, which she stated is a 'crock' and she stated that she was with her the whole time until she left.''
The defense lawyers argue that prosecutors ignored and omitted that statement when they got court permission in March to obtain photographs and DNA samples from team members.
In an April interview with the Associated Press, Roberts said she initially doubted the accuser's story but had changed her mind.
``I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can't say a rape occurred - and I never will,'' Roberts said. But she addded, ``In all honesty, I think they're guilty.''
The accuser has told police she was dragged into a bathroom and raped, beaten and choked for a half hour.
Seligmann and two other players - Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y. - have been charged with first degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping in the case.
Curiouser and curiouser
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