The College Fix

‘Made up a story’

Three Duke University lacrosse players never raped Crystal Mangum, the stripper admitted recently.

Mangum, serving time in prison for murdering her ex-boyfriend, admitted to an interviewer during a recent interview that she “made up a story” about the men raping her at a party. The story stoked controversy as a black stripper accused three white men at an elite university playing a predominantly white sport of raping her.

But now, 18 years later, Mangum (pictured) confirmed the allegations were a big hoax.

“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” she told podcaster Katerena DePasquale. “[I] made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”

“I actually lied about the incident to the public, my family, my friends and to God about it, and I’m not proud about it,” she told DePasquale in a letter reviewed by the Duke student newspaper The Chronicle.

For years, questions have been raised about Mangum’s allegations, as she regularly presented different versions of her story.

Furthermore, she picked the three accused men “randomly” out of a line up, set up by disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong.

As The Daily Wire summarizes:

Nifong also pressured Mangum into picking Duke players from a lineup. She picked three randomly – [the accused] – and they were charged. [One student] was able to prove he was not even at the party at the time the rape was alleged to have occurred, providing ATM records and surveillance, as well as cell phone evidence and an affidavit from the taxi driver who drove him that night. His campus card was also swiped at his dorm during the time he was allegedly assaulting Mangum.

The case also contributed to the political career of Donald Trump ally Stephen Miller.

Stephen Miller, based since day one. Nice 👌🏼

Video credit: @kevin_smith45 pic.twitter.com/UzetLhMWLG

— ꧁𝓖꧂ (@G__Tweets__) December 13, 2024

Then a college student, Miller publicly criticized the handling of the case. Old videos of him on Bill O’Reilly’s show began circulating when news broke that Magnum had confirmed she lied about the rapes.

“We will always be proud to stand up for the rights of Americans in the face of political persecution,” America First Legal, Miller’s group, wrote on X, championing his role in the case.

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