Duke Player's Family Speaks Out

Exclusive: Lacrosse Rape Charges Emotionally Difficult For Kin

(CBS)  Many have suggested District Attorney Mike Nifong's case is weak. Bennett Gershman, a former New York City prosecutor, now a law professor at Pace University tells CBS News, "there's absence of DNA evidence, there's evidence that she was involved with other people over the weekend, some of the defendants apparently have alibis, she may have been intoxicated, I think she made some errors in identification initially, and some of her statements have been contradicted. ... It just strikes me that if all you have is her credibility, I don't know that you can rest the prosecution on that."

But, as CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen pointed out, making predictions about this case now is like "trying to gauge the results of a baseball game before the first inning is even played."

Cohen says it's important to give the prosecutor "the benefit of the doubt and let him present his case and allow him to show his witnesses and evidence."

The case may not go to trial until next spring. In the meantime, Reade's parents are coping with the stress of knowing that their oldest son's life is in limbo.

Phil Seligmann said waking up in the morning and seeing his son's picture on the cover of "USA Today" accused of raping a black exotic dancer was one of the worst things he could imagine. He says the racial tensions that erupted as a result of this case have made things even more difficult for him. Phil was raised by a black woman after his mother died when he was a small child. He said: "That's one reason these accusations of prejudice are so hurtful."

Kathy said she goes through phases when she simply can't watch the media coverage.

"There were days, when I couldn't get out of bed. You would wonder, 'Did I dream that or did this really happen?'" she said. "You just can't imagine what it's like to see someone do this to your child."

Regardless, she said she doesn't harbor any ill will toward the woman accusing her son of rape. "I don't hate her. I think ... she panicked and made up this story. I pray that she didn't mean for this to happen."

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Reade Seligmann is home for the summer. On the night I met him, he was finishing some papers for Duke University. One was a paper he had started before this case broke. It's title: "The Role of the Media Plays in the Justice System."

He will not get credit for any of his spring semester classes unless the charges are dropped or he is declared not guilty. His plan for the fall is to take classes at a nearby university and continue working out because, his parents say, he's hopeful he'll have the opportunity to play lacrosse again soon. He told me he wants to be a lawyer and that this experience has convinced him that law is a field where he can make a difference.

"People keep saying, 'these kids' lives are over, their reputations are ruined,' " his mother said. "I tell Reade, 'There's only one person that can take your reputation from you, and that's you.' "

Reade is optimistic about the future. His mother says he tells her: "You can't change the truth. This didn't happen. I believe in the system and the truth will win."

But she says her son may have more faith in the system than she does.

"He's a 20-year-old man who believes in the truth and I say, 'God, please don't let the truth let him down.' "