Lawyer: Duke Accuser Wasn't Raped
Lacrosse Attorney Says Time-Stamped Pictures Show Stripper 'Very Impaired'
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Play CBS Video Video New Evidence In Duke Scandal Defense attorneys for the Duke University lacrosse team say new evidence has turned up that contradict allegations by a woman, who says she was attacked by three men. Trish Regan reports.
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Video Expert On Sports And Society Following charges that some Duke University's lacrosse players raped a girl, author Jeff Benedict joins Thalia Assuras to discuss the role of sports in American society.
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Video Duke's Internal Investigation The rape scandal at Duke University has led the school to launch an internal investigation into its own actions. Trish Regan reports with reaction from faculty and students.
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Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, center, speaks with the team during practice on the Duke University campus March 29, 2006, in Durham, N.C. Pressler resigned Wednesday, April 5, 2006. (AP Photo)
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Attorneys Bill Thomas, right, and Butch Williams, left, representing the captains of Duke's lacrosse team, leave City Hall in Durham, N.C., Thursday, April 6, 2006, after a city council meeting. (AP)
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This house in Durham, N.C., according to police, is the place where a 27-year-old student and stripper says she was raped on March 13, 2006, by three members of the Duke University lacrosse team. (CBS/AP)
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Interactive Sexual Assault Facts and statistics on sexual assault and rape, with victim resources.
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Interactive FBI Crime Statistics Explore the latest information on U.S. crime, from acts of violence to property damage.
Durham attorney Bill Thomas said some of the photographs, taken when she arrived at the house, indicate the woman was injured before getting to the party March 13. They show extensive bruises and scrapes on her legs, especially around the knees, he said. And Kerry Sutton, an attorney representing the lacrosse team's co-captain suggests it's possible the alleged victim is making the story up, CBS News correspondent Trish Regan reports.
"This young lady was substantially impaired. She had fallen several times during the course of the evening," Thomas said.
He declined to identify the player he represents and said he would not release the photos, taken by at least two cameras, until pending DNA tests are completed.
He also wouldn't say whether the photos were taken by a lacrosse team member or someone else; court documents have indicated that only team members were present at the party.
No one has been charged in the case, but the allegations that members of the nearly all-white team raped the woman, a black student at a nearby university, have rocked both Duke and Durham.
The allegations have led to the resignation of coach Mike Pressler, the cancellation of the lacrosse season and the suspension of one player from school.
Several dozen people gathered Sunday outside the house where the party took place, and pledged to return each Sunday until the case is resolved.
"Whether I want to believe it, or whether you want to believe it, something took place in there," said Johnny Williamson, 36, of Durham. "Something indecent took place."
District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was expected to return this week from an out-of-town conference and has not commented on the case in the past several days, has said previously he is confident a rape occurred. Court documents said a medical exam of the alleged victim found injuries consistent with sexual assault.
The victim has not returned repeated messages seeking comment, but her father said Sunday she hasn't changed her story.
"I expect them to say that," he said of the lawyers' contentions his daughter is lying.
Woody Van, who represented the alleged victim four years ago when she was accused of stealing a taxi and trying to run over a police office, says he "believes her to be a credible person."
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