The exotic dancer who once accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her admitted this week that she invented the 2006 allegations that set off a combustible national conversation about gender, race and class.
Crystal Mangum, who is now in prison serving time for second-degree murder, said she “made up a story that wasn’t true” against one-time defendants David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann who “didn’t deserve that.”
“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong,” she told podcaster Kate Katerena’s “Let’s Talk with Kat” in an interview that dropped this week.
“I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me and made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God and that was wrong when God already loved me for who I was.”
Mangum and another dancer had been hired to perform at party, thrown by Duke lacrosse players, on March 13, 2006.
She claimed that players raped her in blockbuster allegations that touched on hot-button topics such as sex work, race and class.
Charges against the players were eventually dropped, but it later emerged that Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong had withheld evidence from defense lawyers that could have cleared the men much earlier. The prosecutor was disbarred in 2007.
“That night Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans, they took me into their home and they trusted (me),” Mangum said at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.
“The Bible says that you shouldn’t do harm to your neighbor … and they were my brothers, and they trusted me that I wouldn’t betray their trust.”
The 46-year-old said she was “searching for validation” when she made up those lies and now hopes the former Duke players can someday accept her apology.
“I hurt my brothers,” she said. “I want them to know that I love them and they didn’t deserve it and I hope they can forgive me.”
The apology was too little and too late for Finnerty, 38, who said he’s been living under a cloud ever since 2006 and believes his peer group has not looked at him the same since.
“It’s been 18 years since the incident and it’s been hard for everyone involved,” Finnerty said in a statement to NBC News on Friday. “I hope this time in jail makes her think about what the consequences are for her actions.”
Mangum was convicted in 2013 for second-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of boyfriend Reginald Daye on April 3, 2011. She was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.
She’s set to be released on Feb. 27, 2026, according to North Carolina prison records.
Evans and Seligmann did not immediately return telephone and email messages seeking comment on Friday.