Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out
60 Minutes' Ed Bradley Talks To The Accused Lacrosse Players, Who Have Never Before Been Interviewed
-
Play CBS Video Video More From The Duke Players Only On The Web: The three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping an exotic dancer talk to Ed Bradley about the pain and grief caused by the case and the ensuing media attention.
-
Video Brodhead On The Duke Case Duke University President Richard Brodhead speaks to Ed Bradley about how the school handled the alleged rape case involving three Duke lacrosse players.
-
Video Duke Lacrosse Players Speak "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley talks to the Duke lacrosse players accused of raping an exotic dancer. They profess their innocence and discuss how the case has put their future plans on hold.
-
-
David Evans, left, Reade Seligmann, center, and Collin Finnerty (CBS)
-
Kim Roberts (CBS)
-
The accuser says the alleged rape happened inside this house in Durham, N.C. (CBS/AP)
-
-
Photo Essay Duke Lacrosse Case Duke lacrosse players were charged with sexual abuse in high profile case that caused tension in Durham, N.C.
-
Timeline Duke Lacrosse Allegations Track events in the case of team members accused of sexually abusing a dancer hired to perform at a team party.
The three players are white, and come from wealthy families; the accuser is black, a local dancer hired to perform at a team party. Over the past six months, 60 Minutes has examined nearly the entire case file, more than 2,000 documents, including police reports, witness statements and medical records. The evidence 60 Minutes has seen reveals disturbing facts about the conduct of the police and the district attorney, and raises serious concerns about whether or not a rape even occurred.
Ed Bradley spoke to some of the key figures in this case, including Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, who have never been interviewed.
"This woman has destroyed everything I worked for in my life. She's put it on hold. She's destroyed two other families and she's brought shame on a great university. And, worst of all she's split apart a community and a nation on facts that just didn't happen and a lie that should have never been told," says David Evans.
Evans was a co-captain of the lacrosse team and an honors student. He graduated from Duke in May and was headed for a job on Wall Street. Today, at age 23, he is contemplating a future much darker than he ever imagined.
Asked if he ever thinks about the possibility of a conviction and a long prison sentence, Evans tells Bradley, "Thirty years. I could go to jail for something that never happens."
Collin Finnerty, 20, a sophomore and one of most talented young players on the team, is under suspension from Duke pending the outcome of the trial. He says he still can’t fathom why he has been accused of rape.
"I never expected anything even close to that happening. I never expected anyone to get indicted, let alone myself," Finnerty says.
The accuser had picked Finnerty out of a line-up. "It's unbelievable. Don't know how, why that happened. But, try to figure that out, I really have no idea how that happened," he says.
His teammate, 20-year-old Reade Seligmann could have played lacrosse at any university he wanted. He was recruited by Harvard and Princeton, but chose to go to Duke. Today, facing felony charges, he is not allowed to set on foot on campus unless he obtains permission from the university.
"Your whole life you try to, you know, stay on the right path, and to do the right things. And someone can come along and take it all away. Just by going like that. Just by pointing their finger. That’s all it takes," Seligmann says.
The allegations rocked the city of Durham, and the campus at Duke, setting off angry protests by students, faculty and local residents, who denounced the lacrosse team. David Evans, who lived in the house where the alleged rape occurred, says he actually began to fear for his own safety.
"There were threats of drive-by shootings, acts of violence, assaults, people driving by Duke students and pretending to point guns at them and it was just very scary," Evans explains. "We moved out after the first day because there were mobs in front of the house burning candles, putting terrible things up, asking us to get a conscience, show character. It was terrible."
Police released affidavits stating the accuser’s claim that she was pulled into a bathroom by three men and raped “anally, vaginally, and orally” while they “hit, kicked, and strangled” her over a “30 minute” period.
The district attorney, Mike Nifong, took to the airwaves giving dozens of interviews, expressing with absolute certainty that Duke lacrosse players had committed a horrific crime. His comments fueled explosive news coverage and fed public suspicion of the team, before much of the evidence was gathered.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that she was raped and assaulted at this location," he said on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor."
D.A. Nifong referred to the lacrosse players “a bunch of hooligans” whose “daddies could buy them expensive lawyers.” He played up the racial aspects of the case, but insisted that his public comments had nothing to do with the hotly contested election campaign he was waging in a city with a large black population.
Produced By Michael Radutzky and Tanya Simon
© MMVI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.


- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 13
- next
See all 246 CommentsSince you are the person who started the blog "Justice for 2 sisters", it is certainly not a surprise that no matter how much evidence that supports that this was a false accusation, you refuse to accept it. I have read your posts since the beginning of this case, and it is obvious you have no interest in justice. You want to punish innocent white men because you are a racist plain and simple. By the way, is the site going to be renamed to be called "justice for 1 sister"? As I understand it, you no longer believe the "other" sister Kim is telling the truth.
It's quite obvious to anyone who's followed the case that he either knew or should have known that the accusations could not be substantiated, but he pursued charges he knew were bogus solely because doing so would help him with a segment of the electorate in a close primary election. That's the textbook definition of corruption. Nifong belongs in jail.
Ultimately the taxpayers of Durham are going to have to pay through the nose for redress & recompense to the victims (the 3 players) for their crooked DA's gross criminal malfeasance.
And Duke U's administration isn't much better. Nobody in their right mind now could even think of sending their children to that school after seeing how these obviously innocent students were thrown to the wolves by Duke's president for the sake of political expediency. Shameful.
"unfounded charges"??? are you kidding me.
The point is...I have been following this case from the VERY beginning. My view has not and will not change about the victim in this case, despite the one sided reporting. Again, Ed Bradley, you need to redeem yourself for this onesided view of so called journalism.
There is no way to tell two sides of a one-sided story. No DNA match, no trace evidence, airtight alibi, inconsistent stories of no rape, rape by 5, rape by 0, rape by 2, rape by 3, then the accuser identifies 4 as her 3 rapists, and on and on....
There is literally no credible evidence, not a scrap, to suggest that a rape ever occurred. That, and prosecutorial misconduct were the stories.
Please read up on the case before leveling unfounded charges against an honorable man.
Again, this is not the issue. But thank you for proving my point. Because of this DA, now, men like you will have a case to point to in order to doubt women who come forward with a legitimate claim of being raped.
"When asked what the police%u2019s biggest problem is when dealing with rape allegations she replied that the biggest problem was the enormous time the police waste chasing down false allegations. When asked to put a number on the percentage of false claims she replied %u201C95%.%u201DMost, she said, fell into definite patterns that she as a police officer had given names to.
1. Jilted lover syndrome.
This is where consensual *** has taken place followed by an argument, which results in a parting of the ways for the two former sweethearts. Feeling angry, the female half of the love duo decides to take revenge.
2. One night stand syndrome.
A woman goes out on the tiles for the evening. She meets up with a man and ends up back at his place where she indulges in consensual ***. By the end of the night she has fallen in love with her new Romeo but, alas, her love is not returned. She goes to the police claiming that she did not give consent.
3. Female caught in the act syndrome.
Hubby bursts in and catches his wife cheating on him with her boyfriend; she claims that she is being raped to cover up her own wrongdoing.
Overwhelming evidence shows that some women will lie about serious matters for the pettiest of reasons."
You are no legal eagle, Finnerty is a time bomb waiting to exploit. He should have been charged with federal charges, he plead guilty in DC, no body is that unlucky and wealthy!
Please, he probation program is based on him not getting into any legal troubles, since the dipstick plead guilty in DC, his probation and deal can be thrown out. Finnerty has more to lose than any of them, perhaps he will go to jail in their place. The sooner the better!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 13
- next
See all 246 Comments