Duke dad says evidence clears son

Collin Finnerty of Garden City, a Duke University lacrosse player accused in the rape of an exotic dancer, has eyewitness testimony, phone records and receipts showing it was "impossible" for him to have committed the crimes, his father said Friday.

His son also passed a polygraph test administered by a former FBI expert, Kevin Finnerty said in a telephone interview Friday from his home.

The polygrapher came out of the interview room after administering the recent test and said, "'This boy is innocent. He's telling the truth,'" Kevin Finnerty said. "He passed with flying colors."

The former FBI agent was recommended to the Finnerty family as someone with impeccable credentials who not only had administered tests for the FBI but trained other agents to give polygraphs, Kevin Finnerty said.

He said his son is innocent of the charges of rape and kidnapping lodged against him and two teammates based on the accusations of an escort service dancer.

"He wouldn't have done this, and couldn't have done this," he said.

Collin Finnerty's character is evident in his performance at Chaminade, the private Catholic high school in Mineola he attended, the father said. "Collin went through Chaminade as an honor student," he said. "He had zero demerits over four years. That paints a picture of who Collin is. He's a great kid."

Finnerty, 19, of Garden City; Reade Seligmann, 20, of New Jersey; and David Evans, 23, of Maryland are accused of raping and kidnapping the woman in a bathroom during an off-campus house party in March.

In a separate case, Finnerty is scheduled to appear in a Washington, D.C., court on July 10 to face a misdemeanor charge for his alleged role in a November assault outside a bar.

Kevin Finnerty also spoke in an MSNBC interview that aired Friday. "He has numerous eye witnesses every step of the way, every minute of the night," he said.

Finnerty's mother, Maryellen, said the accuser's photo identification of her son "was sort of a pin the tail on the donkey."

Kevin Finnerty said Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong, who faced an election campaign, was "looking for a case that he could hold out to the public. This came along and man he ran with it."

Nifong, who won the primary race, has maintained he's confident in the case and expects it to go to trial early next year.

Kevin Finnerty said he has declined in the past to publicly comment on the case or defend his son on the advice of legal counsel. The family decided to speak out after looking at the approximately 1,800 pages Nifong released to the defense.

"Having seen what is theoretically all that they have, all the DA has in this case, we realize that there is no case, there shouldn't be a case, and we know Collin is innocent," Kevin Finnerty said.