Nearly 20 years after accusing three Duke University lacrosse players of a crime they didn’t commit, Crystal Mangum has finally admitted she made the whole story up. The confession came during a podcast interview recorded from prison, where Mangum is currently serving time for a different crime.
Back in 2006, Mangum, who worked as an exotic dancer, accused Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans of raping her during a party at the players’ house. The allegations were shocking and led to intense media coverage, but the case quickly fell apart when evidence didn’t match her claims. Despite their eventual exoneration, the three young men’s lives were forever changed.
Now, Mangum says she’s ready to own up to her lies. Speaking on the Let’s Talk with Kat podcast, she admitted she falsely accused the men and asked for their forgiveness. “I testified falsely against them by saying they raped me when they didn’t,” she said. “That was wrong, and I betrayed their trust and the trust of so many others who believed in me.”
Mangum explained that she fabricated the story because she was seeking validation. “I made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people, but I didn’t realize I already had it from God,” she said. “I hurt my brothers, and they didn’t deserve that.”
The accusations led to criminal charges against the players, despite the lack of physical evidence. The District Attorney at the time, Mike Nifong, aggressively pursued the case but was later disbarred for unethical behavior, including withholding key evidence that could have cleared the players sooner.
When the truth finally came out, the young men were declared innocent, but the damage to their reputations had already been done. Mangum’s mental health was questioned during the fallout, and she was not charged with perjury. Authorities at the time believed she may have convinced herself her story was true.
Years later, Mangum says she regrets the pain she caused. “I want them to know that I love them, and I hope they can forgive me,” she said in the interview. “They didn’t deserve what I put them through.”
This public apology is a first for Mangum, who previously maintained she couldn’t say for certain what happened that night. In 2008, she even wrote a book, Last Dance for Grace, where she hinted she still believed something had occurred. Now, however, she has fully admitted to fabricating the story.
The three former players went on to sue Duke University and its then-president Richard Brodhead, reaching a settlement in the aftermath. While Mangum is serving time for second-degree murder in an unrelated case, the scars from the Duke lacrosse scandal remain a painful chapter in the lives of everyone involved.
