The woman who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of sexual assault and rape has now said she lied about the allegations, nearly two decades after the story became a national debate, according to a recent interview she conducted while incarcerated for an unrelated murder.

Crystal Mangoa former exotic dancer, admitted to lying about the crimes she accused David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann of committing at a party in 2006 during an interview with the online show “Let’s talk with Kat“, hosted by former model Katerena DePasquale.

“I falsely testified against them saying they raped me when they didn’t, and it was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of many other people who believed in me,” Mangum said in the interview conducted on November 13. at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. “(I) made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”

Despite Mangum’s initial testimony, Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann were exonerated by Roy Cooper, then attorney general of North Carolina, in April 2007, after his account of the events of the night of March 13, 2006 became murky, according to previous media reports. The damage was still done as Duke men’s lacrosse coach Mike Pressler resigned and the university canceled the remainder of its seasonn.

“I hope they can forgive me,” Mangum told DePasquale of the three Duke lacrosse players she falsely accused. “I want them to know that I love them and that they don’t deserve this. I hope they can forgive me.”

Here’s what you need to know about the case that garnered national attention and the woman who was at the center of it.

Why is Crystal Mangum in prison?

Mangum is currently serving a 14- to 18-year prison sentence for second-degree murder related to fatal stabbing of her then-boyfriendReginald Daye, April 3, 2011, according to media reports at the time. She claimed the stabbing was in self-defense because Daye was beating her.

Since her incarceration, Mangum told DePasquale that she “mostly reads the Bible.” When asked to describe his time in prison in one word, Mangum responded, “Growth.”

Before becoming an exotic dancer, Mangum attended North Carolina Central University and studied psychology, she told DePasquale. She attributed her career change to her “search for validation” and her “search for love and acceptance,” according to the nearly 12-minute interview.

DePasquale told USA TODAY on Friday that she interviewed Mangum because people in the Durham, North Carolina, area were still intrigued by the case and that while some considered her a “pariah,” others considered her a victim. So to find out for herself, DePasquale asked the prison’s communications team, they vetted it and then approved the interview.

“For me, it was important, as for all of my interviewees, to understand the reasoning behind decision-making,” DePasquale said. “I just wanted to see Crystal as a human and understand why she lied, or just know who she is.”

What happened in the Duke lacrosse case?

Magnum first told police in 2006 that she had been raped while attending a party hosted by the Duke men’s lacrosse team on March 13 of that year. The players hired and paid her and another exotic dancer to strip at the party.

The charges attracted national attention, with Mike Nifong, then the Durham County district attorney and lead prosecutor in the case, stating CBS News during a March 2006 interview that “there is no doubt that a sexual assault took place,” according to documents announcing the lawyer’s disbarment in 2007.

Nifong also told NBC 17 TV News, now known as WNCN, in March 2006 that “the information available to me leads me to conclude that a rape did occur.”

“I’m making a statement on behalf of the Durham community. This is not the kind of activity we tolerate, and it must be dealt with quickly and harshly,” Nifong told the North Carolina-based television station . “The circumstances of the rape indicate a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were committed. It makes a crime that is inherently one of the most offensive and pervasive, even more so.

“It’s not about people drinking and getting out of control. It’s something way beyond that.”

DNA evidence has not been traced back to the lacrosse players. Subsequently, Nifong was disbarred on June 16, 2007 by the North Carolina State Bar for lying in court and withholding crucial DNA evidence that refuted Mangum’s claims, according to Duke Law.

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann sued Duke University

Following their newfound innocence, the three accused lacrosse players decided to sue Duke and former university president Richard Brodhead, according to past media reportts.

Even after the settlement, players continued to fight for criminal justice reform laws when they filed suit against the city of Durham and its police department. Durham settled with the players in May 2014 when the city awarded a one-time $50,000 grant to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, CNN reported.

“As the City has always maintained, it believes that its police officers had an obligation to investigate the allegations made by Crystal Mangum in 2006 and that no police officer or other City employee engaged in inappropriate conduct », Indicates the press release from the City of Durham: by CNN. “The former District Attorney, Mike Nifong, was not a city employee, and Mr. Nifong was subsequently convicted of criminal contempt and disbarred for his actions.”

After the deal concluded, Evans graduated in 2006, while Seligmann transferred to Brown University and Finnerty to Loyola University Maryland, the Duke’s Chronicle reported. The case was also the subject of a 2016 ESPN documentary titled “Fantastic lies“.

“A 10-year retrospective on the Duke lacrosse affair, in which a party thrown by members of the school’s men’s lacrosse team led to a rape accusation — a claim that, although s “Was later proven to be false, sparked both a firestorm that damaged the school’s prestige and an investigation that ruined careers,” reads the documentary’s description.

Crystal Mangum didn’t admit to lying about allegations in 2008

When Mangum spoke publicly for the first time after the affair in October 2008, she did not confess to lying about the rape and sexual assault.

“My only intentions were justice, and I wanted justice for myself,” she said.

At the press conference, Mangum referenced her book “The Last Dance for Grace” and said “a lot of things went wrong” in her case.

“I just hope ‘The Last Dance of Grace’ gives someone else the strength to come forward. A child or a woman who has been hurt will come forward and have the strength to speak out.”

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Crystal Mangum says she lied about 2006 Duke lacrosse rape allegations