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ny-naduke0521-sg

Months after being exonerated in a highly publicized rape case, former <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse player Collin Finnerty will finally play again - this time for Loyola College in <a href="/topics/Maryland">Maryland</a>. 
"It will be good for him to be a kid again," said Finnerty's father, Kevin, of Garden City. 
Finnerty, 21, said in a statement that the decision to attend Loyola marks a milestone for him. 
"I am excited to be returning to school and look forward to finishing my college career at Loyola," Finnerty said yesterday. 
"Now that I have made my college decision, my life is my own again," he said. "I loved Duke and will miss all my friends there, especially my teammates and coaches. They are an unbelievable group of guys who stood behind me from day one, and I wish them all the best." 
Finnerty was one of three players falsely accused of raping a stripper at a house party in March 2006. Michael Nifong, the <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a> County district attorney who pursued the charges, lost his job and his law license for his overzealous and unethical prosecution of the case. 
After the charges were dropped, Duke invited Finnerty and codefendant Reade Seligmann, 21, of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J., to return to school and continue to play for the team. Seligmann has said he will attend <a href="/topics/Brown_University">Brown University</a> in the fall. 
Kevin Finnerty said his son ultimately decided going back to Duke would be too difficult. 
"Duke holds a lot of very good memories, but he wanted to be totally committed to wherever he went, and he felt he had to look over his shoulder in Durham every time he went back there," he said. 
In the past year, Finnerty has worked in a sports marketing company and on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a>. He also took courses at <a href="/topics/Hofstra_University">Hofstra University</a> and worked as a volunteer assistant lacrosse coach at his alma mater, <a href="/topics/Chaminade_High_School">Chaminade High School</a> in Mineola, his father said. 
Because of the Hofstra coursework, it's unclear what year Finnerty will be in at Loyola. 
Finnerty will join a Division I team that went 7-6 this year, losing to SUNY Albany in the first round of the <a href="/topics/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association">NCAA</a> tournament. 
"There's a comfort level between Collin and his teammates and the coaching staff," said Loyola Coach Charley Toomey. "We think it's going to be a great fit."

LIDUKE12

Collin Finnerty back on the lacrosse field

Loyola University Maryland

After a harrowing year burdened by accusations that they raped an exotic dancer at an off-campus party, three former Duke University lacrosse players now hope to return to some semblance of a normal life after they were exonerated yesterday on all charges. 
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's unqualified proclamation that the players are innocent, and his criticism of the decision to prosecute them, produced a joyous response by the players and their families. 
Speaking shortly after the attorney general's announcement, Collin Finnerty, 20, and the other two players, Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J., and David Evans, 24, of Bethesda, Md., thanked their families and legal teams. 
"Today was the day we've all been waiting for," Finnerty said at a news conference in Raleigh. "I'm excited to return to being a college student. I hope to return to the field again to play lacrosse and I can't wait to return to normal life back on Long Island." 
"It's been 395 days since this nightmare began, and finally today it's coming to a closure," Evans said at the news conference, his voice breaking. 
"We're just as innocent today as we were back then," he said. "Nothing has changed, the facts don't change." 
Evans' attorney, Joe Cheshire, said work would soon begin to expunge the trio's arrest record in the case. Defense sources also told CNN that the defense plans to pursue lawsuits against District Attorney Mike Nifong, the original prosecutor. 
Cooper said his staff, after an exhaustive three-month review of the case, found virtually nothing to support the dancer's claims that Finnerty and two other players assaulted the dancer at a party last year. 
"We have no credible evidence that an attack occurred in that house on that night," Cooper said. "There is insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges." 
However, Cooper did not address any details of what happened in the house that night. 
He characterized Nifong's decision to prosecute as "a tragic rush to accuse." He also suggested that he viewed Nifong as a "rogue prosecutor" whose excesses contrasted with the norm among North Carolina prosecutors who, Cooper said, strive to be tough but fair. 
Finnerty, Evans and Seligmann were indicted last spring on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense after the accuser told police she was assaulted at a March 13, 2006, party. The rape charges were later dropped, but the other charges remained until yesterday. 
Cooper said that the accuser will not face prosecution in the case, saying she "may actually believe" the many different stories she told. "We believe it is in the best interest of justice not to bring charges." 
The accuser could not be reached for comment last night. But Mark Simeon, a local attorney who spoke on behalf of her parents, said "They were disappointed for their daughter. She did want to go forward with" the case. 
Newsday has not named the accuser because she claims to be the victim of sexual assault. 
The accusations polarized the Duke campus, the city of Durham, and the nation into groups who believed the players had done nothing wrong and those who believed the charges against them were true. Feelings cooled though, after the case against the players crumbled and rape charges were dropped last December. 
After a series of revelations that undermined confidence in the case - including repeated changes in the dancer's story and DNA results that did not match the accused players - Nifong stepped aside in January and Cooper's office took over the case. 
Nifong, who was out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment, faces charges of ethics violation and misconduct in his handling of the case that have jeopardized his law license. Nifong's lawyer, David Freedman, said before Cooper's announcement that Nifong has "complete confidence in the attorney general's office to make the appropriate decision." 
As the case unfolded last year, Nifong called the athletes "a bunch of hooligans" and declared DNA evidence would incriminate them. He also was accused of withholding the results of lab tests that found DNA from several men - none of them lacrosse team members - on the accuser's underwear and body. 
The attorney general yesterday called for the passage of a law that would allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to remove a district attorney where justice demands it. "This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor," Cooper said. 
In the uproar over the allegations, Duke canceled the rest of the team's 2006 season, and the lacrosse coach resigned under fire. 
Duke suspended Seligmann and Finnerty after their arrest, then invited both to return to campus this year, but neither accepted. Evans graduated the day before he was indicted. 
For some at Duke, the possibility of dropped charges left as many questions as answers - and a feeling that the full truth of what happened last March in the house on North Buchanan Boulevard may never be known, in part because the investigation was mishandled. 
"Since we haven't gone through a normal legal process, we don't know what really happened," said Duke biology professor Sheryl Broverman. "The fact the charges were dropped doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means information wasn't collected appropriately enough to go forward [CORRECTION: Comments by Duke University professor Sheryl Broverman about the lacrosse case in a story Thursday were made before North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced he had cleared the three Duke players of all charges. The time element was omitted. PG. A17 ALL 4/18/07]." 
The reaction was mixed in the accuser's neighborhood, in South Central Durham. 
"I do believe something happened but we don't know," said a neighbor, Lafardella David, 68, a retired chef. "No one will ever know. 
"Money is involved," he said in a reference to the status of the families of the accused. "If you got the money you can't do no wrong." 
Reginald Brown, 19, disagreed. "She lied basically," he said of the accuser. "She was in the wrong. DNA don't lie." 
The accuser's mother, who answered the door at the family home, declined to comment on the advice of her lawyer. 
Yesterday afternoon, the three Duke players and their lawyers spoke at a Raleigh hotel news conference attended by 31 members of the Duke men's and women's lacrosse teams. With families surrounding them, the three hugged and thanked those who had supported them while excoriating those who had not. 
Collin Finnerty's father, Kevin, said Cooper's denunciation of the case, and his unqualified statement that the players are innocent, went beyond the fondest hopes of their families. 
"It gives them a chance to live their lives and go forward," the elder Finnerty said. "We were hoping for that, we didn't know whether to expect that, but we got it." 
The Associated Press and McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this story. 
WHAT THEY FACE NEXT 
THE DEFENDANTS 
Collin Finnerty of Garden City has a part-time job as an assistant lacrosse coach for Chaminade High School in Mineola. Finnerty, 20, has attended Hofstra University since his suspension from Duke. He recently served six months probation for a 2005 assault in Washington, D.C. He said yesterday that he looks forward to "a normal life back on Long Island," playing lacrosse and attending college, and to "use my experience to prevent this from ever happening again to anyone." 
&nbsp; 
Reade Seligmann, 21, an Essex Fells, N.J., resident, was recruited to Brown University in Providence, R.I., to play lacrosse, but has not decided if he will go there. He said yesterday that he looks forward to returning to school in the fall. 
&nbsp; 
David Evans, 24, of Bethesda, Md., former co-captain of the Duke team, graduated from Duke in May. His attorney said yesterday that Evans and the other players will "sit down and assess their lives" and have not decided whether they will sue any parties in the case. 
THE DA 
Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong is only a few months into a four-year term and is facing several charges of ethics violations levied by the state bar association. If he's found guilty after a hearing in June, the bar association could impose disciplinary measures, including disbarment. 
THE ACCUSER 
Despite the dismissal of criminal charges, the accusing witness, 28, a mother from south central Durham County, could sue the lacrosse players for assault and battery, although experts say it is unlikely. The accuser also could have faced charges for filing a false police statement but North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said she won't be charged. 
KEY FINDINGS 
from N. Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper 
Identification procedures in the Durham DA's probe were unreliable. 
No DNA supported the stripper's story. 
No witness corroborated it. 
The woman contradicted herself. 
Inconsistencies existed between the evidence and the accuser's various statements.

LIMAIN12

Innocent: Duke charges dropped

duke lacrosse players 6/14/07

A former Duke University lacrosse player from Long Island and a teammate who were both cleared last week of charges that they had raped an exotic dancer have decided not to return to the school. 
Collin Finnerty, of Garden City, will attend the London School of Economics in England this fall, his father, Kevin Finnerty, said yesterday on ABC's "Good Morning America. " The family has declined a Duke invitation to have the 20-year-old sophomore resume his studies there, his father said. 
Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J., has also turned down Duke's invitation to return to the Durham, N.C., campus, he said in an interview yesterday with NBC's "Today" show. Seligmann plans to enroll in another school and is considering whether to become a criminal defense attorney. "We can all work together and make positive things come out of this, and help people in the future who are falsely accused of crimes and prosecutorial misconduct," he said. 
The two, along with an older player who graduated the day before his indictment, were arrested after an exotic dancer claimed they raped her after she performed at a house party last March. The third lacrosse player who was cleared last week, David Evans of Bethesda, Md., has been offered a job on Wall Street. 
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper last week declared the three innocent based on a three-month investigation. 
Collin Finnerty told "Good Morning America" that during the past year his father was the rock for the family, and he learned how much his mother loved him. "We all faced a tough time, but they really guided me through it, and I can't imagine what it would have been without them."

LIDUKE17

2 lacrosse undergrads say 'no' to Duke return

An accuser lacking any credibility, the absence of evidence of a crime, and a detailed timeline that corroborated the defendants'&nbsp; stories led the <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> attorney general to dismiss all charges against the three Duke lacrosse players and declare them innocent, according to a new report. 
In a 21-page summary of his investigation, released Friday, Attorney General <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Roy Cooper</a> detailed how he concluded two weeks ago that a flawed probe by <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a> prosecutors had led to the charges but that there was "no credible evidence that an attack occurred in that house that night." 
Four pages of the report details a timeline that begins on the afternoon of March 13, 2006, when one team captain called an escort service to hire two dancers to entertain at a small bachelor party at the house. It portrays an accuser who is unsteady on her feet from the time she begins dancing just before midnight, sexual banter between some party-goers and one dancer, and some party-goers annoyed by an abbreviated performance. 
It ends with the accuser in an emergency room and a nurse asking whether she had been raped. "The accusing witness answered in the affirmative. This was the first time she had indicated to anyone that she had been the victim of a sexual assault," the report concludes. 
In a series of meetings with <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Cooper</a>'s staff during the past three months, "The accusing witness, when recounting the events of that night, changed her story on so many important issues as to give the impression that she was improvising as the interviews progressed, even when she was faced with irrefutable evidence that what she was saying was not credible," Cooper's report said. 
She "attempted to avoid the contradictions by changing her story, contradicting previous stories or alleging the evidence had been fabricated" by <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> or others, the report said. 
For example, Cooper said, she told investigators she had arrived at the party at 11:10 p.m. and began dancing shortly thereafter. When shown time-stamped photos to the contrary, she "claimed the pictures had been altered." 
On April 11, Cooper dismissed all charges against the three, Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City; Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J.; and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 24, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md. 
Cooper also pointed to severe flaws in the investigation by Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong. 
A severely flawed photo identification process alone, which led Nifong to seek indictments of the three, "would effectively have ended the case," the attorney general said. 
John F. Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations at <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a>, said: "We welcome this report as we welcomed the attorney general's announcement on April 11. We now await the N.C. state bar's review of the charges against Mr. Nifong for his conduct in this case." 
Nifong could not be reached Friday. 
Among other evidence, the report found the accuser made seven new allegations in her interviews during the past few months, each contradicted by "verified and credible photographic, documentary and testimonial evidence." 
They included a claim that she was not with the other dancer when a 911 call was made, that the two women left together at 11:50 p.m., and that two of the players threw her onto the back porch after the alleged assault. 
How the Duke case went wrong 
THE DANCER 
During the time she said she was being beaten and raped, "in a video recorded at 12:31:26 a.m., she is talking to one of the party attendees saying 'I'm a cop' and making other comments which were difficult to understand," the report said. 
Was unable to initially identify any attackers in several photo arrays of members of the team. 
COLLIN FINNERTY 
Had left the party before the time the woman claimed she was attacked. He walked to another house on Urban Street in Durham, meeting up with two friends by 12:27 a.m. They were soon joined by a third friend, and they all walked to a restaurant, Cosmic Cantina, where they ordered food and paid at 12:56 a.m. 
READE SELIGMANN 
Had ample evidence of his trip by taxi to a bank ATM, a take-out restaurant and his dormitory at times when the supposed attack was occurring. He got into a cab at 12:19 a.m. and was photographed at the ATM at 12:24 a.m. 
<a href="/topics/David_Evans">DAVID EVANS</a> 
Could not have been alone with the dancer at any time, according to time-stamped photos and videotapes taken that night. 
DA MIKE NIFONG 
Never had an extended interview with the accuser. No one from his staff interviewed her until December.

LIDUKE28

Why the Duke case was closed

The one-time exotic dancer who accused three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players, including one from Long Island, of raping her in 2006 was arrested Wednesday night and charged with attempted first-degree murder, the Raleigh News &amp; Observer is reporting. 
Crystal Gail <a href="/topics/Crystal_Mangum">Mangum</a>, 31, was arrested following a domestic disturbance during which authorities told the newspaper she set a fire in the bathtub and threatened to stab her boyfriend - all while her three children were inside the apartment in Durham, N.C. 
Police were not immediately available for comment. 
The paper reported that Mangum also was charged with five counts of arson, assault and battery, communicating threats, three counts of misdemeanor child abuse, injury to personal property, identity theft and resisting arrest. 
Local television station WRAL reported on its Web site that police received the 911 call shortly after 11:30 p.m. and that when officers arrived they found Mangum and her boyfriend, identified as Milton Walker, 33, fighting. 
Citing police records, the station is reporting Mangum "scratched, punched and threw objects at Walker and told him, 'I'm going to stab you, [expletive]!' " 
Her three children, aged 3, 9 and 10, were in the home at the time but were not injured, authorities said. 
The station said Walker was not arrested or charged. 
It was March 2006 when Mangum accused three Duke lacrosse players, among them Collin Finnerty of Garden City, of sexually assaulting her during a team party at an off-campus residence. The charges against Finnerty, Reade Seligmann, of Essex Falls, N.J., and Dave Evans, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., were zealously pursued by local District Attorney Michael Nifong - despite serious doubts about their veracity. 
The case was dismissed in April 2007 after North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said there was no evidence of an assault. After being charged with almost two dozen ethics violations by the state bar, Nifong resigned. He was later sued by the three players. 
The status of that lawsuit was not immediately clear. 
It is being reported that Mangum is being held in Durham County Jail and is scheduled to appear for arraignment Thursday. Reports said she initially told police her name was "Marella Mangum" - and also gave them a false age. 
Mangum, a student at North Carolina Central University at the time of the lacrosse incident, released the memoir "Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story" in 2008. It was written with Vincent Clark.

News

LIDUKE19

Duke rape accuser charged with attempted murder

Crystal Mangum

Parents of the three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players who prosecutors exonerated of rape charges said money and notoriety has motivated the woman who accused their sons to come out with a book today that maintains that she was attacked. 
"The attorney general, <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Roy Cooper</a>, who is the most senior law enforcement official in the state of <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a>, conducted a lengthy and comprehensive investigation of the facts of this case," said Kevin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, the father of Collin Finnerty, one of those originally accused and arrested. 
"They unequivocally concluded that no attack had occurred and they concluded that no attack could have occurred." 
Phil Seligmann, the father of Reade Seligmann of <a href="/topics/New_Jersey">New Jersey</a>, another of the cleared players, said the book is "simply a pathetic attempt to further her need to remain in the public eye at the expense of demonstrably innocent individuals." Both Seligmann and Finnerty said they are consulting their attorneys about possible legal action. 
Two years ago, a woman identified as Crystal <a href="/topics/Crystal_Gale_Mangum">Mangum</a> told police in <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> that she was attacked at a March 2006 lacrosse team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. 
The state investigation found no DNA, medical evidence or witnesses to confirm Mangum's story, which had inconsistencies that the state said, "were so significant and so contrary to the evidence that the state had no credible evidence that an attack occurred in the house that night." The state attorney general declared the players innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" in April 2007. The prosecutor, <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a>, was later disbarred for violations of the bar's rules of professional conduct. 
In the book, "The Last Dance for Grace: The <a href="/topics/Crystal_Gale_Mangum">Crystal Mangum</a> Story," Mangum and co-author Vincent Clark say that she is not "looking forward to opening old wounds" but, Mangum writes, "I want to assert without equivocation that I was assaulted. Make of that what you will. You will decide what that means to you ..." 
Kevin Finnerty said, "We view this to be a desperate attempt by a desperate person to profit from a fictitious situation." Meanwhile, his son is a senior at another college where he continues to play lacrosse, Finnerty said. "The three boys are moving on with their lives. Obviously this woman is not." 
The <a href="/topics/Associated_Press">Associated Press</a> contributed to this report.

LIDUKE24

Accuser writes book

Michael Nifong may have parted with his freedom as he began his 1-day jail sentence Friday, but he likely won't have to part with much more of his money, said several legal experts who predicted the three wronged <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players won't get much out of the disgraced ex-<a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a> prosecutor. 
As Nifong walked into a jail Friday after being convicted of contempt, reports surfaced that attorneys representing the three young men cleared of raping a stripper are seeking a $30-million settlement from the City of Durham. 
City officials have 30 days to reach a settlement before the players file the suit. 
Durham Mayor <a href="/topics/Bill_Bell">Bill Bell</a>, city attorney Henry Blinder and other city officials declined to comment on a possible settlement. Nifong's attorney, James Glover, did not return calls for comment. 
Although Nifong was not employed by the city, and rather was an employee of the state of <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a>, sources close to the players said the City of Durham would likely be the main target of any future litigation, under the theory that city officials sanctioned the various indiscretions of Nifong and the Durham Police Department in investigating the case. 
While not confirming the $30-million settlement figure, Michael Cornacchia, a <a href="/topics/Manhattan">Manhattan</a> lawyer representing former defendant Collin Finnerty of Garden City, said that a proposed settlement would seek to recoup the "millions" of dollars spent by each of the defendants in clearing their names. That included three large legal teams, investigators, experts, public relations consultants, travel expenditures and even the cost of drivers to be taken to and from court. 
Attorneys for the players said a sizable portion of any settlement or jury award would go to help set up a foundation to protect people from wrongful prosecutions. 
"The bottom line is that these boys didn't ask for this," said Deborah Hussey of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, the aunt of former Duke defendant Reade Seligmann of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J. "But these boys are going to take this and do some good." 
<a href="/topics/Paul_Carrington">Paul Carrington</a>, a Duke law professor specializing in civil procedure, said going after Nifong would likely be futile. "They can sue him, but he doesn't have any money," <a href="/topics/Paul_Carrington">Carrington</a> said. Nifong's annual salary was about $111,000. 
Carrington said <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> law often protects someone from losing his "homestead" in a lawsuit, so without any other major assets, many attorneys wouldn't even bother to seek a judgment against Nifong. 
Irving Joyner, a North Carolina Central University law professor, said the disbarred Nifong could reapply for his law license in five years. 
"He has to go on with his life," Joyner said. "He's not just going to stop and dry up."

LIDUKE08

3 seek settlement as ex-DA is jailed

The <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> district attorney who was disbarred earlier this month for his handling of the discredited Duke rape case has promised to resign from his post on Monday, the prosecutor handling his removal said yesterday. 
<a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> didn't show up yesterday at a hearing to consider his immediate removal as district attorney for Durham County, a position from which he has already been suspended with pay, said Raleigh lawyer Robert Zaytoun, who is prosecuting the removal. In a previously submitted resignation letter, Nifong pledged to leave office July 13. 
Zaytoun said that in a conversation with Nifong on Wednesday, the disgraced prosecutor, who said he was out of state, vowed to resign Monday to "avoid another tumultuous hearing." 
Superior Court Judge <a href="/topics/Orlando_Hudson">Orlando Hudson</a> will reconvene the court on Monday to either accept Nifong's new resignation or issue an order that he be immediately removed from office, Zaytoun said. 
Zaytoun said Nifong's promise to resign Monday will only help the heal the wounds left by the case, in which three Duke lacrosse players - including one from <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a> - were falsely accused of raping a stripper during a party. 
The three men were exonerated in April. 
Michael Cornacchia, the <a href="/topics/Manhattan">Manhattan</a> attorney for Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, one of the accused players, said it is "torturous" waiting for Nifong to step down. "I asked him to resign [in April] and do the honorable thing and he still hasn't resigned," he said. 
In a related action, another judge, Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith II, yesterday set a hearing for July 26 to consider holding Nifong in criminal contempt of court for allegedly making false statements during the rape case. 
If found guilty, Nifong faces up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. 
Collin Finnerty's father, Kevin Finnerty, said he had no comment on the developments yesterday but that he is eagerly awaiting the contempt hearing and hopes Nifong is sent to jail.

LIDUKE29

Lawyer: Nifong says he will quit Monday

RALEIGH, N.C. - There was DNA from at least four men on the body and underpants of a woman who said she was raped by three Duke lacrosse players - but none of it came from the men accused in the case, a DNA expert testified yesterday at the ethics hearing for <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a> District Attorney Michael Nifong. 
But DNA specialist Brian Meehan said he did not include that evidence in a report that he gave to Nifong for use at a hearing in the case, even though they had discussed the evidence and it might have helped exonerate the defendants. 
"It was a poor judgment on my part," said Meehan. "But there was no specific reason or agenda." 
The fact that Meehan clearly took responsibility for omitting information from his report and repeatedly said Nifong did not direct him to do it was a small victory for Nifong, who could be seen smiling and chuckling at several moments during his testimony. 
Nifong's failure to turn over information about unidentified male DNA found on the exotic dancer who accused the lacrosse players of rape is one reason why the <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> State Bar Association has charged him with ethical violations. State Bar attorneys say Nifong, who was in the middle of a tense re-election campaign, exploited the case, in part to win the votes of Durham's black population. The accuser is black; the lacrosse players are white. 
A disciplinary panel is hearing evidence in the matter this week in <a href="/topics/Raleigh">Raleigh</a> and could take away his law license, which would cost him his office. 
Joe Cheshire, a lawyer for <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, one of the three men accused in the case, said Meehan went against his own protocols by omitting the information, something he wouldn't have done unless he'd been directed to do so. 
"They together conspired to withhold exculpatory evidence from the people who were charged," Cheshire said. 
Meehan said he found no DNA from any of the men charged in the case on the exotic dancer, who performed at a team party in March 2006. 
The three men charged in the case, Collin Finnerty, 20, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>; Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J., and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">Evans</a>, 24, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., were later declared innocent by <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Attorney General <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Roy Cooper</a>, who took control of the case earlier this year amid an uproar over Nifong's tactics. 
Seligmann, who has been subpoenaed to testify in the case, sat in the back row of the courtroom all day, his face betraying no emotion. 
The lead investigator on the case, Benjamin Himan, also testified yesterday that he told Nifong that he'd learned the exotic dancer had a history of both <a href="/topics/Bipolar_Disorder">bipolar disorder</a> and drug use, and that she had accused others of raping her.

LINIFO14

DNA expert testifies he omitted evidence

Finally, turnaround time. 
<a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> wasn't sitting in the prosecutor's chair yesterday. Not this time he wasn't. 
As the courtroom came to order in <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a>, N.C., the local district attorney found himself in a far less familiar and far less comfortable spot. He was plopped in the place that defendants usually are. At long last, the fickle finger of official accusation was pointing straight at him. 
And he couldn't have been enjoying the turnaround one little bit. 
So much more exciting - wasn't it? - to be the one bringing the charges. So much more gratifying to be the one representing the state. So much less risky to be the accuser instead of the accused. 
Those days could soon be history. 
The charges in the Duke-lacrosse rape case are months behind us. But they aren't quite done yet. They won't be finished until the fate of Mike <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a> is settled once and for all. 
From beginning to end, this was his case. He brought it. He propelled it. 
He pursued it. And he pushed it as a torrent of doubt was over the evidence he apparently thought he had. And now he will face the consequences of the biggest and wildest prosecution of his career. 
Now turnarounds in public life are rarely exact. And this one certainly isn't. 
The penalty Nifong is facing is nothing compared to the one risked by the most famous criminal defendants of his prosecutorial career, those three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players he prosecuted so doggedly. 
Had they been convicted at trial, they could have spent decades in a <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> prison. The worst that can happen to Nifong is the loss of his license to practice law, should this professional disciplinary panel be convinced he violated various ethics rules. 
But there is a broader issue at stake here. It has to do with prosecutorial discretion: How much leeway does a prosecutor have in bringing a shaky case? 
Before this is over, we will know. 
As the case began, you had to say this much: A whole lot less discretion than <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> showed here. 
In his opening statement yesterday, Nifong's attorney <a href="/topics/David_freedman">David Freedman</a> did what he could. He said his client regretted certain public comments he made&nbsp;early in the case. And this was a tough case. But nothing in the law, the attorney said, says prosecutors can only bring slam-dunks. 
"It is not unethical to pursue what someone may believe to be an unwinnable case," the lawyer said. 
And Nifong didn't get the arrest warrants all by himself. "He had the investigators go in to present their case to a grand jury," Freedman said. 
"There will be no evidence of any kind that they were instructed how to present the case to the grand jury." 
About then, the testimony began, and the facts didn't quite seem to comport. 
On the witness stand, investigator Benjamin Himan testified that he'd been told Nifong planned to indict two Duke students, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. 
Himan's two-word reaction at the time: "With what?" 
One big problem, the investigator said, was that no one could prove Reade Seligmann was even at the party when a dancer said she'd been raped by him. 
"We didn't have any DNA," the investigator said. "We didn't have him at the party. It was a big concern to me to go for an indictment and not even know where he was, if he was even there. ... I didn't want to indict somebody that shouldn't have been indicted." 
Katherine Jean, the state bar prosecutor, had predicted this. She also focused on what may prove even more damaging to the DA, what went on outside the courtroom. 
"Mr. Nifong intentionally sought out the world's attention," the bar prosecutor said. "When the world was focused squarely on <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> and its justice system, Mr. Nifong repeatedly and intentionally misled the media and therefore the public about a very serious case." 
The result, she said, could come as no surprise. 
"This didn't have to happen, and the horrible consequences were entirely foreseeable," Jean said. "The harm done to these three young men and their families and the justice system of North Carolina is devastating." 
Devastating indeed. 
And will not be over until this is.

NYHEN13

Henican: When prosecutor is  the accused

RALEIGH, N.C. - The lead investigator in the botched rape case against three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players softly told a disciplinary panel yesterday that he knew all along that the woman who made the accusations was lying. 
First she said she had not been raped at the March 2006 party where she performed as an exotic dancer, Investigator Ben Himan said. Then she said she had been raped by 20 men. Finally, she said she was raped by three men whose photos had been shown to her in a PowerPoint presentation in Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong's office. 
"Every time she was questioned on something, she improvised it," Himan said. "I don't know exactly what happened that night at that house, but I don't believe a sexual assault occurred." 
Himan was one of two witnesses to testify yesterday, the first day of a <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> State Bar hearing to determine whether Nifong violated legal ethics rules in his prosecution of the case. If the disciplinary panel hearing the case finds that he did, he could lose his law license and his office under state rules. 
In her opening statement Katherine Jean, a prosecutor for the bar association, said Nifong was in the middle of a difficult re-election campaign at the time, and he exploited it to win votes. 
<a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Attorney General <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Roy Cooper</a>, who assumed control of the case earlier this year amid an uproar over Nifong's tactics, concluded in April that the three players - Collin Finnerty, 20, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J., and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 24, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md. - were innocent and no assault took place at the party that night. 
As Jean spoke, Mary Ellen Finnerty, Collin's mother, looked on somberly. On her wrist she wore a blue rubber band with the jersey numbers of the three accused players and the word "innocent." Finnerty, who expects to be joined by her husband and son later during the hearing, declined to comment after the proceedings, which are expected to last through Saturday. 
Nifong's attorney, <a href="/topics/David_freedman">David Freedman</a>, said it's easy to criticize Nifong's actions now, but at the time Nifong believed he was doing the right thing. A nurse who had examined the dancer who made the charges said she appeared to have been sexually assaulted; an e-mail from one of the players referred to "skinning" one of the "strippers," and neighbors said they had heard the players shouting racial slurs at the dancers, who are black. 
Freedman said since Nifong believed that a crime had taken place, he was ethically bound to attempt to prosecute it. 
"It is not unethical to pursue what someone might believe is an unwinnable case," Freedman said. 
Nifong, who is expected to testify later in the hearing, sat somberly as he listened. "I'm going to do all my talking in the courtroom," he said. 
The first witness to testify, <a href="/topics/Wade_Smith">Wade Smith</a>, one of Finnerty's lawyers, said Nifong showed a disregard for the truth in the case from the start, and seemed to care only about winning. 
At an earlier hearing, Nifong laughed out loud when Seligmann's lawyer said his client had an airtight alibi, <a href="/topics/Wade_Smith">Smith</a> said. 
"I have not seen a derisive laugh like that in the face of so earnest a comment," he said. 
Smith also described learning, several months into the case, that Nifong had been aware of DNA that did not belong to the lacrosse players, which was found on the dancer who said she had been raped. Nifong did not tell the defendants about that evidence. 
Himan said he was so shocked when Nifong told him that he was going to indict Seligmann - even after Seligmann produced his alibi - that he responded: "With what [evidence]?" 
The charges against Nifong 
Making inflammatory, false and misleading statements to the media that could heighten "public condemnation" against the accused. 
Withholding DNA evidence that might have exonerated the players 
Making false statements about the DNA evidence to a judge and to the state bar's grievance committee. 
Withholding other evidence, including memoranda that "tended to negate the guilt of the accused." 
The penalties 
If found at fault by the state bar, Nifong could face a reprimand, suspension or a minimum 5-year loss of his license to practice law.

LINIFO13

Early doubts about Duke case

<a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> is now a defendant. 
And Collin Finnerty will be there to watch him face justice. 
Widely known as a rogue prosecutor accused of improperly pursuing what turned out to be false rape charges against Finnerty and two other <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players, the <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a>, N.C., district attorney is now listed on the <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> State Bar docket. 
<a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a>'s ethics trial in <a href="/topics/Raleigh">Raleigh</a>, N.C., which begins Tuesday, is based on a complaint brought against him by the <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> bar, a government disciplinary agency that polices lawyers' conduct. 
The complaints, if upheld, could cost him his law license and then, as a consequence, his district attorney's job. 
Expected to last as long as four days, the proceeding could provide clues as to how, and why, a career public servant decided to ride a dubious case first to fame, then to disgrace. 
Nifong will take the stand to explain why he did what he did, said David Freedman, of <a href="/topics/Winston-Salem">Winston-Salem</a>, N.C., his lawyer. 
"The normal procedure in a state bar hearing is for the defendant to take the stand, and that's what the defendant will do in this case," Freedman said. 
"He expects to get a fair hearing." 
Nifong will be questioned not by the lacrosse players' formidable team of top defense lawyers in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and <a href="/topics/New_York">New York</a> City, but by government prosecutors from the state bar. 
Nifong could be acquitted, admonished, suspended or disbarred, said Thomas Lunsford, executive director of the state bar. 
Disbarred lawyers may apply for reinstatement after five years, Lunsford said, and must "demonstrate the reformation of his character sufficient to warrant reinstatement." 
The entire Duke lacrosse case, which sparked questions about race and privilege because three wealthy, white men were accused of holding captive and raping an exotic dancer, who is a black woman and a single mother. The woman claimed the assault took place March 13, 2006, in a bathroom at an off-campus lacrosse team party. 
It took more than a year for the young men to be cleared. North Carolina Attorney General <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Roy Cooper</a>, who assumed control of the case earlier this year amid an uproar over Nifong's methods, concluded in April that the players were innocent and no assault took place at the party that night. 
Asked last week how his son feels about his virtual role reversal with the prosecutor, Kevin Finnerty, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, Collin's father, said, "I think people are looking for justice to be served, and that's all we're hoping for." 
Collin Finnerty, 20, and his parents are planning to attend Nifong's hearing. So will the other two cleared lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, 21, of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J., and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 24, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., and their parents, Kevin Finnerty said. 
"They're all in the same boat. The moms will be there likely for the whole week," Kevin Finnerty said. 
This week's trial will be the latest in a series of events that have battered Nifong. <a href="/topics/Roy_Cooper">Cooper</a>'s unequivocal declaration of the players' innocence, and his labeling of Nifong as a "rogue" prosecutor, was an unusual event and a devastating blow to Nifong's reputation and his standing in the legal community. Yet as the elected district attorney, he continues to be responsible for prosecuting Durham County's criminal cases. 
Cooper found that Nifong improperly kept secret DNA evidence that eliminated the players as suspects. He ignored dozens of contradictory and implausible statements from the accuser and declined to view electronic, photographic and other substantial alibi evidence from the accused, Cooper found. And, while campaigning for re-election as Durham district attorney, Nifong made prejudicial statements in dozens of media interviews, the attorney general found. 
If Nifong is disciplined, the bar does not have the power to order him to pay damages to the three men or any of the other people he may have harmed, and the bar trial is entirely separate from any other civil or criminal cases that may arise from Nifong's actions as district attorney. 
Under state law, Nifong's case will be heard by an independent three-judge administrative panel including two lawyers and a non-lawyer. A majority decision is enough to reach a verdict. 
How the discipline system works: 
&nbsp; 
In North Carolina, the state bar investigates complaints against lawyers for breaches of the code of conduct. 
Once complete, an investigation by the bar's grievance committee can result in a formal complaint. 
There are 13 disciplinary hearings on the North Carolina State Bar's current docket. 
In the past decade, lawyers have been disbarred or suspended in 373 cases in North Carolina. 
The complaint against Durham District Attorney <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> accuses him of making inflammatory statements, misleading the court by saying he had turned over all evidence potentially beneficial to the defense, and withholding DNA results favorable to the defense. 
The hearing will be public and carried live by Court TV beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Court of Appeals Building in downtown Raleigh, N.C., and could last up to four days.

LIDUKE11

Role reversal: Duke DA to take the stand

An attorney for former Duke lacrosse player Collin Finnerty of Garden City said Friday the <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> state attorney general made the right decision not to prosecute the woman who falsely accused Finnerty and two other players of raping her, the Raleigh News &amp; Observer reported. 
"I really don't feel in my gut any need to go charge" the accuser, lawyer <a href="/topics/Wade_Smith">Wade Smith</a> of Raleigh said. The woman had a history of alcohol abuse and psychological instability that District Attorney Michael Nifong failed to investigate, <a href="/topics/Wade_Smith">Smith</a> said.

LIDUKE14

LIer: No need to charge accuser

DURHAM, N.C. - The woman who said she was raped after performing as a stripper at a <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse team party was impaired and "talking crazy" afterward, the second dancer at the party said in an interview broadcast yesterday. 
"The trip in that car from the house ... went from happy to crazy," Kim Roberts told ABC News, which aired the interview and posted details on its Web site. "I tried all different ways to get through to her." 
Roberts, who previously has called the rape allegations a "crock," left the March 13 off-campus party with the accuser and drove her to a nearby grocery store. Unable to get the accuser to leave her car, Roberts said she pushed on the woman's arm and leg to force her out. At that point, Roberts said, the accuser said: "'Go ahead, go ahead. Put marks on me. Go ahead. That's what I want. Go ahead.' And it chilled me to the bone." 
The accuser, a student at <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at the party. A grand jury indicted three players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. The lacrosse players, including Collin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, have declared their innocence. 
Durham County District Attorney <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> declined to comment on Roberts' comments. <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a>, running for election against two challengers who have attacked his handling of the case, said he has heard criticism from experts and armchair lawyers, but remains comfortable with his decisions. 
"I think that I have a responsibility to prosecute this case," Nifong said in an interview yesterday. "I think that really nothing about my view of the case and my view of how the case ultimately needs to be handled has been affected by any of the things that have occurred." 
In the first days after the accuser made the allegations, Nifong granted numerous interviews, at one point declaring that DNA would identify the guilty. 
However, DNA tests did not connect the players to the accuser.

LIDUKE31

Dancer at Duke party speaks out about accuser

After the performance ended, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann never saw the exotic dancer who would claim they and another <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse player raped her at an off-campus house, the two men said in an interview aired last night on "<a href="/topics/60_Minutes">60 Minutes</a>." 
The <a href="/topics/CBS">CBS</a> interviews marked the first public comment on the case from Finnerty, Seligmann and David <a href="/topics/David_Evans">Evans</a>, who hosted the party. 
The three are accused of holding the dancer against her will in a bathroom of the house and raping her in March. A grand jury indicted all three on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense; defense attorneys have proclaimed their innocence. 
Finnerty, 20, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, said he left the party after the two women stopped dancing. 
"I left soon after I saw them do their act in the room with everybody else," he said. "I saw them leave the room. I never saw them again in my life." 
Also, the second dancer at the party, Kim Roberts, appeared to change her story in the <a href="/topics/CBS_News">CBS News</a> interview. 
After saying in previous interviews that the rape allegations were "a crock," then saying the lacrosse players were "guilty," she now says the other woman gave no indication she was assaulted the night of the party - and actually suggested they go back to make more money. 
Roberts said the two women stopped performing after only a few minutes - they had been paid $800 for two hours' work - because one of the men threatened her with a broomstick. 
Roberts said she and the other woman then hid in a bathroom while the men in the crowd banged on the door. 
"It wasn't, you know, cajoling or it wasn't sweet," she said. "It was they were coaxing us but in their own boyish, rude way." 
At that point, Roberts said, she walked out of the house to her car, leaving the other woman alone for five to 10 minutes. When the other woman joined her in the car, Roberts said, she did not indicate that she had been assaulted. She even suggested the two women go back inside to make more money. 
Finnerty, a sophomore who because of the charges against him is suspended from Duke, said he doesn't know how or why he and two teammates wound up charged with a rape they say they didn't commit. He said the charges against him will define him for the rest of his life. 
"I never expected anyone to get indicted, let alone myself," he said. "It's unbelievable. Don't know how, why, that happened. But try to figure that out; I really have no idea how, how that happened." 
Seligmann, 20, from <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J., said he left the party when the dancers finished because he wasn't having a good time. 
"I didn't like the tone of the party, and I just, it made me uncomfortable," he said on the program. "It's as simple as that. I thought it was a boring party and I didn't like the tone." 
Evans, 23, the team captain from <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., who hosted the party, said he regrets the decision to combine alcohol, strippers and his lacrosse teammates. 
"I was naive, I was young, I was sheltered," he said. "And I made a terrible judgment. In five months, I've learned more than I did in 22 years about life."

LIDUKE16

Accused in lacrosse team's rape scandal: We're innocent

Numerous witnesses can account for every minute of <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse player Collin Finnerty's actions and could testify that he did not assault an exotic dancer at an off-campus party, his father said in a Newsday interview Friday. 
"He was with, at a minimum, four other people every step of the way, all night. He was never alone," said Kevin Finnerty, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, who did not specify who was with his son. 
He said his son and other players were present during the March 13 performance by the accuser and a second stripper. 
Finnerty and two other Duke lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann and David <a href="/topics/David_Evans">Evans</a>, are accused of holding the dancer against her will in a bathroom of an off-campus house and raping her. A grand jury has indicted all three on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense, and defense attorneys have proclaimed their innocence. 
The judge has ordered both sides not to discuss the case. 
Finnerty's father said his son, Seligmann and Evans were "never with this woman. They were all going in different directions. Reade was with some people, Dave with other people." 
As he awaits trial, Collin Finnerty, who just turned 20, is working full time at a charitable organization on <a href="/topics/Long_Island">Long Island</a>, taking guitar lessons and attending night classes twice a week at <a href="/topics/Hofstra_University">Hofstra University</a> in hopes of transferring the credits to Duke, Kevin Finnerty said. 
"He's got a girlfriend, he's got a lot of friends," he said. "He's a vital part of our family. He's very engaged in the whole process around this case." 
His son keeps in shape in hopes of playing for Duke this spring, the father said. "He works out every day, he is in constant contact with his friends, and he talks occasionally with the coaches who call." 
The first extended interview with Collin Finnerty - along with Seligmann, of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J.; and Evans, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md. - is set to air Sunday on <a href="/topics/CBS">CBS</a>' "<a href="/topics/60_Minutes">60 Minutes</a>." 
According to a news release from "60 Minutes," Collin Finnerty says, "I never expected anyone to get indicted, let alone myself. It's changed my life, no matter what happens from here on out. It's probably going to be something that defines me my whole life." 
Kevin Finnerty said his son decided to speak "because he's unjustly accused of something that didn't happen, that he didn't do, and people need to know the truth." 
The "60 Minutes" report includes an interview with Kim Roberts, the second dancer hired to perform at the party. According to the excerpts released by CBS, Roberts contradicts the accuser's statement to police that the two women were holding onto each other when three men separated them and pulled the accuser into the bathroom. 
That version of events is one of several the accuser has told police, defense lawyers have said. <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a> County prosecutors and police declined to comment Friday. 
<a href="/topics/John_Bennett">John Bennett</a>, pastor at the Church of the Apostolic Revival in Durham, N.C., said Friday that he was "very disappointed" that "60 Minutes" plans to broadcast an interview with the second dancer because she has gone back and forth on whether she believes the accuser was raped. 
"Hopefully, justice is blind when it is time to carry out the proper punishment for what has been committed, and perhaps what has not been committed," <a href="/topics/John_Bennett">Bennett</a> said. 
Staff writer John Moreno Gonzales contributed to this report, which was supplemented by The Associated Press.

Father of accused Duke player says his son's actions prove innocence

It was the first time in memory that all of <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a>'s student athletes - including members of its embattled lacrosse team - gathered under one roof, within the Gothic stone walls of the <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a>, N.C., school's legendary basketball stadium. 
For a nationally ranked lacrosse team whose season was suspended last spring following an exotic dancer's accusations that she was raped by three players at a rowdy off-campus team party, the Sept. 11 pep rally was a welcome diversion, said the lacrosse team's co-captain, Ed Douglas, 22, of <a href="/topics/Baltimore">Baltimore</a>. 
"Out of that grew a lot of camaraderie" between the lacrosse program and other Duke teams, said Douglas, one of 41 players on the team that includes 10 from <a href="/topics/Long_Island">Long Island</a>. The new coach, John Danowski, is the former <a href="/topics/Hofstra_University">Hofstra University</a> head lacrosse coach. 
After months of bad publicity about the team - and by extension the school itself - Douglas said players emerged with a feeling of "being proud to be a student athlete, and being proud to represent Duke in a public way." 
&nbsp; 
Continuing criticism 
But the unusual athletes-only rally outraged a number of people on the campus, saying it again raised questions about the lacrosse program that first surfaced in the wake of the highly publicized rape accusations. 
This weekend, as the lacrosse team prepares for a new season - starting with exhibition games yesterday at <a href="/topics/Molloy_College">Molloy College</a> in <a href="/topics/Rockville_Centre">Rockville Centre</a> - the controversy continues. 
Critics said the Cameron Indoor Stadium rally, which in part was meant to honor two former Duke athletes who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, demonstrated that the school's sports establishment still doesn't understand many students' reactions to the rape accusations. After the arrests, many students said team members had long been out of control and, because of their success nationally, were coddled - elite players on an elite team. 
The self-congratulatory tone of the rally shows that the athletic department and its supporters "have stubbornly refused to learn the lessons of these last months," Orin Starn, a Duke professor of cultural anthropology, wrote in an opinion piece in a Durham newspaper about a week after the rally that sparked a flurry of mixed reactions. 
"An arrogant sense of victimization and entitlement seems to have replaced any semblance of clear thinking or self-reflection in Duke sports circles," wrote Starn, who could not be reached for comment. 
But the critics have it wrong, Douglas and Danowski said in interviews. 
Past rowdy behavior, underage drinking at parties and the team's hiring of strippers for the March 13 party were wrong, but a new code of conduct - written by the team itself - will help prevent problems, Douglas said. 
The code calls for suspending players from the team for a range of infractions, including hazing, providing alcohol to younger&nbsp; members, harassment, violence and other crimes. Members must report code violations by any player within 24 hours or face immediate suspension. 
The three accused players, Collin Finnerty, 20, of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>; Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J.; and David <a href="/topics/David_Evans">Evans</a>, 23, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., are expected to face trial next year on charges of raping and kidnapping the dancer, a single mother and a student at nearby <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Central University. Defense attorneys say their clients are innocent. 
&nbsp; 
 Team unity bolstered 
Among current team members, the innocence of the three players is an article of faith. 
"Every guy in the locker room believes in them. We reach out to them," said Douglas, who said he often phones Finnerty. "When I called him last week, he said he's keeping busy with lots of stuff in Garden City and taking a class at Hofstra." 
Their coach applauds the team's faith in the players. 
"In everything they do, they include those guys, Collin and Reade. They are so supportive and steadfast in their belief," he said. Evans, the third accused player, has graduated and is not as closely linked to the remaining players, Danowski said. 
As he awaits his trial, Finnerty lifts weights and practices lacrosse skills in the hope that, if acquitted, he will be allowed to rejoin the team, Danowski said. 
With their every move under public scrutiny, the team members look out for each other, the coach said. 
"They're still enjoying themselves and the college experience, but they're wary," Danowski said. "They're such great kids, but even so, I think they're looking over their shoulders to make sure things don't get misinterpreted."

New season begins for Duke lacrosse

As the Duke lacrosse team comes to <a href="/topics/Long_Island">Long Island</a> this week, the criminal probe that cut short the team's season last March is wending its way slowly through <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> state courts. 
The three players accused of raping a woman hired as an exotic dancer for an off-campus lacrosse party are due back in a Durham County court Oct. 27. 
The dancer's allegations in March prompted Duke's president, <a href="/topics/Richard_Brodhead">Richard Brodhead</a>, to suspend and later cancel the <a href="/topics/Duke_Blue_Devils">Blue Devils</a>' season. 
<a href="/topics/Richard_Brodhead">Brodhead</a> reinstated the program in June. 
John Danowski, former head coach of <a href="/topics/Hofstra_University">Hofstra University</a>'s lacrosse team and the father of standout Duke player Matt Danowski, was tapped to head the program after Duke's coach, Mike Pressler, quit when the rape allegations surfaced. 
The dancer, a student at <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Central University and the mother of two, said she was raped at an off-campus party on March 13. 
Those indicted in the case include Collin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a> of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., and Reade Seligmann of Essex Fells, N.J. They are charged with rape, kidnapping and first-degree sex offense. 
Mike <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a>, the Durham County district attorney whose handling of the case has been both praised and criticized, has said the case probably will not come to trial before next spring. Nifong's handling of the case was at the center of a Democratic primary race, which he won, in his bid for a new term in November.

LIDUKE03

Rape case crawls through court

WASHINGTON - <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse player Collin Finnerty instigated an attack on two bar patrons in Georgetown last year, allegedly shouting anti-gay slurs and asking one man if he'd perform a sex act, according to trial testimony from his accuser yesterday. 
The 19-year-old Garden City native [CORRECTION: Collin Finnerty, a suspect in the Duke rape case, is a resident of Garden City. Stories this week mischaracterized his connection to the village. PG. A11 ALL 7/15/06] and two former <a href="/topics/Chaminade_High_School">Chaminade High School</a> classmates allegedly surrounded Jeffrey Bloxsom and Scott Herndon during the wee hours of Nov. 5, taunting and shoving the pair as they tried to walk home. The group then briefly brawled, leaving Bloxsom with a bloody lip and bruised cheek, prosecutors charged on the first day of Finnerty's trial in <a href="/topics/Washington%2C_D.C.">District of Columbia</a> Superior Court. 
Finnerty faces 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both if convicted of misdemeanor assault. He won't testify on his own behalf today as the trial concludes, his father, Kevin, told Newsday. 
The U.S. attorney's office had originally agreed to a deal that would have allowed Finnerty to plead guilty and perform community service, but the offer was rescinded after he was charged with raping a dancer near the Duke campus in Durham, N.C. 
In a dramatic hour on the stand, Bloxsom told the court that a drunk Finnerty shoved him and stood close to his ear, shouting, "Say you're a fag! " 
Bloxsom, 27, who isn't gay and had dinner with his fianc�e hours before the attack, said he replied, "I'm a fag," hoping his pursuers would let him go. 
Instead, he claimed that Finnerty taunted him further by asking if Bloxsom would perform a sex act on another man; again, Bloxsom said he would in hopes of avoiding violence. 
A few minutes later, Bloxsom - who said at one point he tried to get away by pushing one of the men - said he was on the ground, after being punched by an unidentified member of Finnerty's group. Herndon testified Finnerty punched and kicked him, although he suffered no significant injuries. 
Finnerty's attorney Steve McCool portrayed the incident as a dispute that got out of hand, suggesting that Herndon may have started the fight. He also portrayed Herndon as a hothead who liked to drink, focusing on Herndon's 2004 arrest for drunkenness outside a <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a> bar. 
In an odd twist, D.C.-based blogger Wonkette.com reported yesterday that Finnerty was seen at a party in Washington's Glover Park neighborhood Saturday, July 1. The post misspelled Finnerty's first name and incorrectly reported that he had already been "convicted. " 
Still, it caught the attention of Judge John H. Bayly, who said he'd investigate whether Finnerty had violated his 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. court-imposed curfew. 
"Collin Finnerty was not at a party anywhere on Saturday night," McCool told reporters. "He has been abiding by his curfew conditions. " 
Two other former Chaminade students arrested in the assault, Daniel Dagnes and Patrick Bonanno, were allowed to submit guilty pleas in exchange for a six-month restitution program that includes community service.

USDUKE11

Duke player's D.C. trial begins

WASHINGTON - <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a> native Collin Finnerty[CORRECTION: Collin Finnerty, a suspect in the Duke rape case, is a resident of Garden City. Stories this week mischaracterized his connection to the village. PG. A11 ALL 7/15/06] was convicted yesterday of assaulting a man on a Georgetown sidewalk last fall after taunting him with anti-gay epithets. 
Finnerty, 19, who is one of three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players indicted on charges of raping a <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> woman, did not testify during his two-day trial. 
<a href="/topics/Washington%2C_D.C.">District of Columbia</a> Superior Court Judge John H. Bayly handed the verdict down because Finnerty waived his right to a jury trial. He sentenced Finnerty to a 30-day jail stint, which he suspended in favor of 6 months' probation and a $500 fine. While on probation, Bayly instructed, Finnerty must abstain from alcohol and stay away from Georgetown, but the judge declined to make him attend anger management class. 
Finnerty did not speak on his own behalf during the sentencing phase. His only utterance was a meek "Yes, your honor," when asked whether he understood that he had a right to appeal. 
Bayly said that, among the many "conflicting accounts" of what had transpired in the early hours of Nov. 5 last year, the "clearest account" was given by Jeffery Bloxsom, whom Finnerty was on trial for attacking. 
Bloxsom testified that he was fearful of Finnerty, who he said kept throwing punches at him and asked whether he would perform a sex act. 
"I accept [that Finnerty] menaced [Bloxsom] with his fists," Bayly said as he gave his judgment. "I convict the defendant of assault on a matter of that basis. " 
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Varghese said he was "pleased with the verdict. I think justice was done. " 
Finnerty's attorney, Steve McCool, said he was "disappointed" with the judge's ruling but thought the sentence was "very fair and lenient. " He said he intended to file an appeal on Finnerty's behalf. 
After his arrest for the incident last year, Finnerty was offered the same plea deal as his two co-defendants - fellow <a href="/topics/Chaminade_High_School">Chaminade High School</a> graduates Dan D'Agnes and Patrick Bonnano - that would have let him off with community service. But that was rescinded after Finnerty was indicted on rape charges in Durham, N.C. 
In court yesterday, both D'Agnes and Bonnano testified for Finnerty. The two attempted to portray the baby-faced athlete as a victim of an unwarranted beating by Bloxsom and his buddy, Scott Herdon. 
Bonnano said he first encountered Bloxsom and Herdon after sneaking into Third Edition, a Georgetown bar. He said he bumped into one of the men while dancing by himself on the dance floor. He said he apologized, but they responded with "something derogatory. " Later, Bonnano said, he encountered the men on the sidewalk and a verbal confrontation ensued. 
After trying unsuccessfully to engage Bloxsom and Herdon in a fistfight, Bonanno said, he and D'Agnes turned to walk away, leaving Finnerty behind. 
When he looked back, Bonnano said, he saw one of the men hit Finnerty in the back of the head. After rushing to his defense and landing a few blows, he said, they decided to leave. 
Bonanno said they were arrested by police a few blocks later.

USDUKE12

Duke lacrosse player from LI convicted in D.C. assault

In the early weeks of the Duke lacrosse case, Durham County, N.C., District Attorney <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike Nifong</a> was everywhere - from national TV to local Durham events - talking in detail about why he believed an exotic dancer's claim that she was raped by lacrosse players at an off-campus party. 
Since then, his unusually vocal public posture has put the career prosecutor&nbsp; squarely at the center of a firestorm, as defense attorneys continue to hammer away at a case they say never should have been brought. And <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a> has been largely silent, leaving critics to question the strength of the evidence and supporters to defend his handling of the probe. 
This week, a group looking to unseat the prosecutor gathered 10,000 signatures on petitions to place county Commissioner Lewis Cheek's name on the November election ballot against Nifong for district attorney. The district attorney previously had faced no opposition after winning a May <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>ic primary. Cheek, also a <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>, will appear as an unaffiliated candidate. 
According to Cheek, who hasn't decided whether to run, the prosecutor's actions raised "issues much greater than that case itself. Such as, how does one talk about cases, and ... deal with the media in ongoing investigations? " 
Nifong, though, remains confident in the case, according to Durham Mayor <a href="/topics/Bill_Bell">Bill Bell</a>. 
"It would surprise me if he were not to proceed with the trial," Bell, 64, said. He believes Nifong's support in the city - with a population that is 46 percent white and 44 percent black - is steady. 
"I just had a conversation with <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Mike</a> and he feels strongly about the case," Bell said. "He wants to see it in the court. " 
He said many in Durham remained disquieted by the accusations by a black woman, a student at nearby <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> Central University, that she was raped by three white men after dancing for hire at an off-campus Duke lacrosse team party the night of March 13-14, the mayor said. They want to see the facts of the case presented in a courtroom, he said. 
&nbsp; 
Weak evidence? 
Few who know Nifong well believe he'll be deterred by defense lawyers' public attacks on nearly 2,000 pages of evidence released so far, said <a href="/topics/John_Kerry">Kerry</a> Sutton, a Durham lawyer, who represents a player not accused in the case. 
"I spoke with him a couple of days ago, and he is as confident as ever," said Sutton, whose client is Duke lacrosse player Matt Zash, of Massapequa. 
The case led the university to suspend the top-rated lacrosse program in which 14 of the 46 players come from <a href="/topics/Long_Island">Long Island</a>. Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 23, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., and Reade Seligmann, 20, of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J., are free on bail on rape and kidnapping charges. A trial would not come until next year. 
Lawyers and family members for all three have said they have strong evidence of innocence. Finnerty's father said his son passed a lie detector test, and can produce eyewitnesses and documentation to prove his innocence. 
Defense lawyers have been waging a public battle to undermine Nifong's case - and the accuser's credibility. She has not commented publicly, but the accuser's father has said he believes his daughter. She could not be reached. 
But Sutton sees the case as doomed by the mounting disclosures of apparently weak evidence. "I wish I knew what he's thinking," said Sutton. "I'd say I'm puzzled and disappointed. " 
&nbsp; 
Search for the truth 
Mary Sheehan Pollard of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, a lawyer with no connection to the Duke case, said the case does appear to be weakened, based on what has been made public. She said she was particularly struck by Nifong's early statements that there was strong medical evidence of assault, evidence that to date hasn't materialized. 
She said that she, and many others in Durham, initially considered the case to be strong, but are now unsure. "I wonder whether the case is what we thought it was," she said. 
But, Pollard cautioned, public perception of the case is based on the defense cherry-picking weaknesses, before anything is revealed in the courtroom. 
One of Nifong's opponents in the Democratic primary campaign for district attorney in May, Durham lawyer Keith Bishop, said Nifong's public comments about the case may have had an effect on black voters. 
"He got a majority of the African-American vote ... He found an approach to the black community," said Bishop, the only black candidate among the three on the May primary ballot. "In this town you generally need votes from both&nbsp;white and black to win. " 
Bishop said that despite the weaknesses in the case, there's no reason to think Nifong is not doing his duty as a public servant and prosecutor. 
"He's hard-nosed," Bishop said. "But he's honest and trustworthy. " 
Since the three suspects were named, Nifong, 55, has declined to comment on the case, and did not respond to a request for comment for this story. 
But in an e-mail to <a href="/topics/Newsweek">Newsweek</a> last month, he suggested that there may be damaging evidence that defense lawyers have failed to publicize. "What other documents did they not show you? " Nifong asked. 
Nifong continued, "Is anyone surprised that the defense attorneys are spinning this case in such a way that things do not look good for the prosecution? Their job, after all, is to create reasonable doubt ... " 
Nifong added, "The only people I have to persuade will be the twelve sitting on the jury, and if you want to know how I am going to do that, you will need to attend the trial."

Durham DA remains tight-lipped

Mike <a href="/topics/Mike_Nifong">Nifong</a>, the Durham, N.C., district attorney prosecuting three <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players in the alleged rape of an exotic dancer, faces a political challenge in his November try for re-election because of the way he handled the case. 
A group of Durham County residents gathered 10,000 signatures, submitting petitions in time to secure a spot on the November ballot for Lewis Cheek, a lawyer and county commissioner, Cheek said yesterday. 
Cheek's name - the only other on the ballot besides Nifong - will stay although he hasn't decided whether to run. Cheek, who like Nifong is a Democrat, will be listed as an unaffiliated candidate. 
Three players, Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 23, of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., have been accused of raping a dancer at a March 13 off-campus party. 
"The issues that caused people to come to talk to me about the possibility of running for DA were raised by the Duke lacrosse case," Cheek said yesterday from his Durham office. Nifong has been criticized for his early appearances and public disclosures in the case, before the indictments and while he was mounting a primary campaign. 
On June 20, volunteers began seeking signatures to get his name on the ballot. They needed at least 6,400, but within 10 days they gathered about 10,000 signatures, he said. "I told them I would seriously consider that, and that's the most I would do. " 
Cheek ran three successful local campaigns, winning City Council elections twice - serving from 1999 to 2003 - then winning as county commissioner, taking office in 2004. Cheek said his supporters do not include the families of Duke lacrosse players, or others associated with the team. If he runs, he said he would decline any campaign donations from Duke lacrosse families.

Durham DA may face Nov. challenger

Collin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a>, a <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> 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 <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> 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 <a href="/topics/Mineola">Mineola</a> 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 <a href="/topics/New_Jersey%2C_NY">New Jersey</a>; and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 23, of <a href="/topics/Maryland">Maryland</a> 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 <a href="/topics/MSNBC">MSNBC</a> 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.

LIDUKE01

Duke dad says evidence clears son

Parents of some <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse players said Friday that court documents made public this week in <a href="/topics/North_Carolina">North Carolina</a> cast new doubts on the truthfulness of the exotic dancer who accused three players of raping her during an off-campus party in March. 
In documents accompanying a defense motion to throw out photo identification of the suspects, a second dancer who performed during the team's party told police that she was only out of the sight of the accuser for five minutes. That would contradict the accuser's claims that she was alone with three players for half an hour in a bathroom as they assaulted her. 
And the second dancer told police initially that the rape claim was a "crock," the records show. She later said she came to believe the accuser. 
Chuck Sherwood of <a href="/topics/Freeport">Freeport</a>, a former Duke lacrosse player whose son is now on the team, said, "I was confident that the truth would ultimately come out, but I figured it would take time." His son hasn't been implicated in the case. 
"I think it's clear to anyone with brains that they did not do what they are accused of doing to this woman," Sherwood said. 
Another parent of a <a href="/topics/Long_Island">Long Island</a> player, who asked not to be named, said he expects Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong to proceed with the case nonetheless. 
"This guy's going to take it to trial, unfortunately. As far as the evidence, that's really for the system to decide," said the parent, adding, "I know the kids and they're innocent." 
Nifong couldn't be reached for comment. 
The motion, if it succeeds, will cripple the case, said Karl Knudsen, a <a href="/topics/Raleigh">Raleigh</a>, N.C., defense lawyer and a former Wake County assistant district attorney not associated with the case. 
"If the photo IDs are thrown out, that would taint the accuser's identification of the defendants in court," Knudsen said, because the identification of a defendant must hold up in court for the case to go forward. 
"She wouldn't be able, in court, to point to the defendants and say, 'They did it,'" he said. "If there's no in-court ID, there's no case." 
Three white players - Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City; Reade Seligmann, 20, of <a href="/topics/New_Jersey">New Jersey</a>; and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, 23, of <a href="/topics/Maryland">Maryland</a> - are accused of raping and kidnapping the woman, who is black. 
Seligmann's lawyers made the motion to suppress the photo IDs, saying the police presented a Durham County judge with incomplete evidence on which to make his decision. 
Sherwood said the families of the other players also believe no rape took place, but have still suffered after the accusations. 
"I've always felt that these guys would be found innocent," he said, "and I hope there's as much attention paid to their innocence as there was when they were accused."

LIDUKE10

Doubts raised in Duke case

The second dancer in the Duke lacrosse case told a national publication that tensions built from the start of the evening of the alleged rape, because drunken players were upset that black women arrived instead of the white and Hispanic performers they requested. 
In a story scheduled to appear in <a href="/topics/Vanity_Fair">Vanity Fair</a> tomorrow, Kim Roberts said race played a disquieting role from the outset, when players seemed accepting of her appearance as a woman of Korean and black heritage, but hesitant when the alleged victim, who is African-American, arrived. 
"I fit the bill as Hispanic, so they were assuming the next girl would be white," Roberts told the magazine, explaining that she is sometimes mistaken for Latina. "And then here she comes, walking around the corner." 
Roberts said the partygoers, all white, were non-committal when the alleged victim arrived at the shabby team house March 13. But she said the players and exotic dancers ultimately agreed to go forward. 
Roberts, who acknowledged a past embezzling conviction, said she quickly began to fear for her safety. At least five players urinated off the balcony of the house in her presence, she said. One player grabbed a broomstick and shouted at the exotic dancers to use it as a sex toy, she added. 
"You have to think of two little girls among how many big boys," Roberts said. "That, in and of itself, is intimidating." 
In a news release yesterday announcing the reinstatement of the lacrosse program for next season, <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> President Richard Broadhead said the team is committed to setting new standards of behavior. "Whether or not the felony charges are upheld against the three indicted students, the fact is that members of the team engaged in irresponsible and dishonorable behavior," Broadhead said. 
Defense attorneys for indicted players Collin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a>, Reade Seligmann of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J., and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a> of <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., did not return calls for comment. In the <a href="/topics/Vanity_Fair">Vanity Fair</a> story, defense attorney <a href="/topics/Bill_Thomas">Bill Thomas</a> said Roberts used her own racially charged insult by calling the player who shouted the broomstick remark a "white boy," then questioning his sexual prowess. 
Roberts said a demeaning atmosphere caused the women to leave the party, but did not dispute accounts that they took an $800 fee. She said when she drove off with the other dancer, several players who were angry over the money shouted racial epithets. 
Roberts, who has granted previous interviews, continued to say she did not know what happened during the approximately half hour in which the alleged victim says she was pulled into a bathroom and raped.

LIDUKE06

Dancer: Race an issue at Duke party

<a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> will announce plans to reinstate its embattled men's lacrosse program and name former Duke and Comsewogue High School star Kevin Cassese interim head coach early next week, according to three people familiar with the situation. 
Cassese, 25, served as an assistant coach at Duke this spring and was an assistant at <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> last year. 
The men's lacrosse season was suspended after eight games this spring and its future uncertain following accusations that several players raped a woman hired to dance at a March 13 team party. Garden City resident and <a href="/topics/Chaminade_High_School">Chaminade High School</a> graduate Collin Finnerty, along with Reade Seligmann and <a href="/topics/David_Evans">David Evans</a>, have since been charged with rape, and veteran head coach Mike Pressler resigned. The story, which had elements of class disparity, race, political ambition and "lacrosse culture," garnered national headlines, and vocal protests in the <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a>, N.C., area. 
No formal announcement of the program's reinstatement was forthcoming from Duke on Friday. If, as expected, the news conference is early next week, it will come more than a month after a university committee recommended to President <a href="/topics/Richard_Brodhead">Richard Brodhead</a> on May 1 that men's lacrosse continue at the school. 
Cassese was a two-time team captain and three-time All-America at Duke and was the nation's top midfielder in 2002. One of the world's top players, he was a member of the gold-medal U.S. National Team at the 2002 World Championships and he will play for the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a> again at this summer's tournament. He currently plays for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse. 
Chuck Sherwood, of <a href="/topics/Freeport">Freeport</a>, a former Duke lacrosse player whose son, Devon, was a freshman goalie on this spring's Duke roster and the lone player not investigated for the alleged rape, said he was thrilled to hear that Cassese may emerge as the new coach, even on an interim basis. 
"I'm elated to hear that news," Sherwood said. "This has been on our minds." 
Duke will likely begin a national search for a full-time head coach while Cassese, as interim, begins the offseason processes of scheduling and recruiting. For the last few weeks, according to several sources, Duke men's lacrosse has been a one-man operation with Cassese the only person returning phone calls from recruits and maintaining a pulse for the program. 
One father of a Duke lacrosse player, who said he has known Kevin Cassese since Cassese was a child and feels respect and admiration for him, said Duke should keep Cassese as the team's permanent head coach. "He's a little young, but he's a superb person and a fantastic coach," said the parent, who spoke on condition that his name not be used. 
Duke was a national finalist in 2005 and considered a contender for this year's national championship, won by <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a> last weekend. Duke was ranked No. 6 in the nation when its season ended. All recruits for next season's incoming class were given a release from their original national letters of intent and some have since committed to other schools, including Manhasset's Tom <a href="/topics/Dodge">Dodge</a> (<a href="/topics/Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a>) and Huntington's Scott Kocis (Georgetown). 
Chuck Sherwood criticized the university for taking so long to make a decision on reinstating the program. "If they'd made the decision sooner, the young recruits could have had the opportunity to remain with Duke." 
Joseph Mallia contributed to this report. 
&nbsp; 
KEVI<a href="/topics/North_Carolina">N C</a>ASSESE 
&nbsp; 
PERSONAL 
Hometown: Port Jefferson Station 
High School: Comsewogue 
Born: April 5, 1981 
Father, Tom 
Cassese, is Suffolk's winningest high school football coach at Comsewogue. 
&nbsp; 
COACHING EXPERIENCE 
Assistant coach, Duke, 2006 
Assistant coach, Stony Brook University, 2005 
&nbsp; 
PLAYING EXPERIENCE 
Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse (2003-present) 
U.S. National Team member 2002, 2006 
U.S. Under-19 National Team member 1999 
At Duke (1999-2003): Three-time All-America, three-time All-ACC, two-time team captain, 2001 <a href="/topics/Atlantic_Coast_Conference">ACC Player</a> of the Year, 2002 National Midfielder of the Year. 
At Comsewogue HS (1995-1998): Three-time All-State, 1998 Class B State Champion

SPDUKE03

LI man to coach at Duke 

It was about this time last year that Chuck Sherwood of Freeport traveled with his son down to <a href="/topics/Durham">Durham</a>, N.C., to get a feel for his alma mater, <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a>, one of several prestigious colleges Devon Sherwood had been accepted to and where his father once played lacrosse. 
"Durham was a pleasant place when I was there," Chuck Sherwood, a Class of '75 graduate, said yesterday. And his son, "was deserving of the opportunity. 
He worked hard to get into that school. It just wasn't given to him." 
In the end, the Baldwin High School honors student decided on Duke, and, following in his father's footsteps, earned a spot on the lacrosse team. But with allegations that three of his teammates raped an exotic dancer hired for a team party he briefly attended, he's seen his freshman year turned upside down. 
Yesterday, as two players - Collin Finnerty of <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a> and Reade Seligmann of <a href="/topics/Essex_Fells">Essex Fells</a>, N.J. - were arrested, and word spread that efforts to identify the third alleged assailant were continuing, parents of some of the 13 other Long Island players on the team spoke in their children's defense and refuted allegations that they hadn't been forthcoming with information. 
"These kids were willing to take polygraphs," Brian Loftus, of Syosset, whose twin boys play on the team, told ABC News. "These kids were willing to take blood tests. They were willing to come down and give statements." 
Devon Sherwood, whose father asked that Devon not be interviewed for this story, is the team's sole black player and has especially "been through the ringer," his father said. The only one on the team not asked to submit a DNA sample because the dancer described all of her attackers as white, Chuck Sherwood said his son nevertheless was thrown into the controversy exposing Durham's racial divides and had to endure criticism from peers who say he is withholding information. 
"This kind of thing can just bring out all the resentment and anger from one party to another because they feel one of their own people has been violated," Chuck Sherwood said. "It has not been easy for him." 
Chuck Sherwood said his son went to the party not knowing that a stripper had been hired and departed soon after arriving. "I think he left because he didn't have much interest in what they were doing," he said. What transpired after that, Sherwood said, his son couldn't say. 
He expressed frustration that police had taken DNA even from players not at the party and could have more clearly stated not all were there. 
"That incriminates all of them to some extent and gives the impression they knew what was going on," Chuck Sherwood said. 
In his interview with ABC News, Brian Loftus, father of players Chris and Dan Loftus, said his sons repeatedly told him, "Dad, nothing happened. Nobody did anything. 
"They did everything. They gave DNA. We thought once we give that, that it was going to be over ... But every night, every day, all we see on TV is, we're hiding something," Loftus said. "I'm not an emotional person, but every day I cry. I feel like the world's been pulled underneath my feet."

LIPARE19

The Duke scandal: Rape case hits home

A <a href="/topics/Duke_University">Duke University</a> lacrosse player from <a href="/topics/Garden_City">Garden City</a> was charged last fall in the misdemeanor assault of a man who said he was called "gay and derogatory names" by three suspects, according to court papers. 
Collin H. Finnerty, a former <a href="/topics/Chaminade_High_School">Chaminade High School</a> player, is among the 46 Duke team members asked to submit DNA samples in a rape investigation. 
According to court records obtained by Newsday yesterday, Finnerty, a sophomore player at Duke, was arrested with two other suspects in the Nov. 5 incident in Washington. One suspect is a <a href="/topics/Georgetown_University">Georgetown University</a> lacrosse player, who according to that team roster is also from Chaminade, and the other is a former lacrosse player for Providence College in <a href="/topics/Rhode_Island">Rhode Island</a>. The disposition of their cases was not determined yesterday. 
An attorney representing Finnerty said yesterday that the assault charge would be dropped pending his client's community service and said the incident "had nothing to do with any sort of inappropriate remark." 
According to <a href="/topics/District_of_Columbia">District of Columbia</a> Superior Court records, Finnerty and his companions began confronting the man for no reason outside the Georgetown Inn hotel and attacked him when he tried to walk away. The three punched the man in his face and body "because he told them to stop calling him gay and derogatory names," according to the complaint. 
The victim was treated at the scene on <a href="/topics/Wisconsin">Wisconsin</a> Avenue for a cut to his lip and bruises to his chin. All three men were arrested at the scene by a police officer who was flagged down by the victim. 
A family member reached at the Finnerty household in <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a> yesterday referred questions to Collin Finnerty's attorney, Steven J. McCool. McCool said yesterday: "The charge that resulted was a minor, simple assault charge. ... 
If this case was anything more then a minor scuffle the U.S. Attorney's office would not have offered Collin a diversionary agreement." 
Finnerty did not enter a plea in the case and was ordered to perform 25 hours of community service in Washington, according to <a href="/topics/Shirley%2C_NY">Shirley</a> Shepherd, a deputy clerk at the <a href="/topics/Washington%2C_D.C.">District of Columbia</a> Superior Court. Finnerty has a Sept. 25 court date pending where charges against him will be dropped after he has performed the community service, McCool said.

LIDUKE07

Duke player from LI accused in '05 case

Complete coverage: Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape

Newsday

A look back: Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape

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Complete coverage of NCAA college football, basketball & more. Latest news, scores, schedule, rankings & analysis from the leading source of New York Sports, Newsday.com

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