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The Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Investigation
Posted April 2, 2006
Accuser's Statements
Conclusion
On March 13, 2006, the Duke Lacrosse Team hired two dancers, Kim Roberts and the accuser, to perform at their team party. The party was held at 610 Buchanan Blvd. in Durham, NC. The residence was shared by some of the lacrosse players. Between 11:15 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. the two dancers arrive at the residence. The women were to be paid $800 for two hours of dancing. The women only danced briefly and then left the house. They claimed that the men were becoming aggressive and threatening to sexually assault them. Defense lawyers say the men asked the women to leave because one of them was drunk.
At around 12:15 a.m., the two women were sitting in a parked car in front of the residence. One of the men allegedly apologized to them and convinced them to come back into the house. Shortly after the women re-entered the house they were separated. The accuser claims two men pulled her into a bathroom, locked the door and along with a third man sexually assaulted her. She told the police that the attack lasted for approximately 30 minutes.
Around 12:45 a.m., Kim Roberts and the accuser leave the house and drive away in a car. At 12:53 a.m., Roberts calls 911 and reports that racial slurs were being shouted from the residence at 610 Buchanan Blvd. At 12:55 a.m., the police arrive at the residence. They see signs that a party had taken place but the find no one at the residence.
At about 1:20 a.m., the accuser is almost passed out in the car. Roberts believes the accuser may be keeping some of the money owed to Roberts. Roberts drives to a Kroger supermarket and tells the security officer there is a woman in the car that can barely move. The security officer calls 911. At 1:51 a.m., an officer arrives at Kroger and finds the accuser unconscious in the car. The accuser is taken to the hospital where an evaluation showed that she was possibly sexually assaulted. A rape investigation is then initiated.
On May 15, 2006, David Evans, one of the accused lacrosse players, gave the following statement before turning himself into the police.
The Statement
"I want to thank you all for letting me speak to you today. My name is Dave Evans and I am the captain of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. I have to say that I am very relieved to be the person to come out and speak on behalf of my family and my team and let you know how we feel.
First I want to say that I am absolutely innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me today. That Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are innocent of all the charges that were brought against them. These allegations are lies. Fabricated, and, fabricated, and they will be proven wrong. If I could go back to two months ago when the police first came to my home, I fully cooperated and have continued to try and cooperate with them. When they entered in and started to read the search warrant my roommates and I helped them find evidence for almost an hour. And told them if they had any questions we would gladly answer them to show that nothing happened that night.
After that, I went down to the police station and gave an uncounseled statement because I knew that I had done nothing wrong and I did not feel that I needed an attorney. After going through photos of my teammates and identifying who was there, I then submitted perfectly willingly DNA samples to the police. I then turned over my email account, my AIM account, any kind of information that they could have to show that I had not communicated in any way anything that happened because it did not happen.
After that, I asked to take a polygraph, which was refused by the Durham Police Department. Over the past several weeks, I repeatedly through my lawyer tried to attempt, tried to, a, contact the District Attorney. All of my attempts have been denied. I tried to, a, provide him with exculpatory evidence showing that this could not have happened. Those attempts have been denied. And, as a result of his apparent lack of interest in my story, the true story, and any evidence proving that my story is correct, I asked my lawyer to give me a polygraph. I took that polygraph and it was administered by a former FBI top polygrapher with over 28 years of experience. He’s done several hundred sexual cases and I passed it absolutely. And I passed that polygraph for the same reason that I will be acquitted of all these charges because I have done nothing wrong and I am telling the truth, and I have told the truth from day one.
I’d like to say thank you to my friends and family, my coach and members of the community who stood by us through everything from the initial weeks to now. Their support has given me the strength to come through this. But the thing that gives me the most strength is knowing that I have the truth behind me and it will not phase me.
If I can, a, close, I have always taken pride in my name. I take pride in my name today. And I will gladly stand up to anything that comes against me. I have never had my character questioned before. Anyone who has met me knows that this could not have happened. And I appreciate your support. As for my teammates, I love you all. I’ve never, a, honor of being voted captain of all of you the 46 best guys you could ever meet. It’s been the greatest honor of my life.
If I can clear things up and say this one more time, I am innocent, Reade Seligmann is innocent, and Collin Finnerty is innocent, every member of the Duke University Lacrosse Team is innocent. You have all been told some fantastic lies. And I look forward to watching them unravel in the weeks to come as they already have in weeks past and the truth will come out. Thank you for your time."
The Analysis
Remember that in an open statement such as this, where a person can say anything that he wants to, people usually will not lie. Therefore, if we suspect the subject is being deceptive, we should not focus on trying to find lies within the statement. Instead, we should look to see what the person is telling us based on the language used and what the person has not told us.
"First I want to say that I am absolutely innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me today. That Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are innocent of all the charges that were brought against them."
Even if he committed the crime these statements are truthful statements. In our court of justice, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. When a person says "I am innocent" he is denying the conclusion (usually that of the prosecutor) that he is guilty. When a person says "I did not do it" he is denying the act itself. That is what we want to hear; "I did not commit this crime." "I did not sexually assault her." "I did not do it." Nowhere in this statement does Evans deny the act. This omission does not prove he did it but it does raise suspicion and as an interviewer I would be focusing on that.
It could also be that his attorney, Joe Cheshire, influenced his statement. I know Joe Cheshire and I am certain he reviewed his client's statement before Evans gave it. Most attorneys will use language such as "My client is innocent" or "My client denies the charges." Rarely does an attorney say "My client did not do it" because in most cases the attorney does not know if his client is innocent or guilty. Public opinion may be that the accused is guilty. Therefore, attorneys will stick to denying the conclusion and not address the act itself.
"These allegations are lies. Fabricated, and, fabricated, and they will be proven wrong."
This is a pretty powerful statement. However, it still stops short of saying "I did not do it." What allegations is he talking about? The official allegations made by the authorities or ones that have appeared in the press? There are a lot of allegations and some of them probably are lies. The question is are all of them lies. Evans stumbles on the word "fabricated." There is a reason why this happened. Maybe because he knows that is not quite a truthful statement or maybe because he was giving the statement without the aid of any notes. The last part of this statement "they will be proven wrong" still does not deny the act itself.
"If I could go back to two months ago when the police first came to my home, I fully cooperated and have continued to try and cooperate with them."
The word "try" means attempted, failed. Deceptive people will often use this word when they want you to believe they have done something like telling the truth. (“I swore an oath to tell the truth and I believed I was bound to be truthful and I tried to be.” - President Clinton) Evans tells us that he currently is not cooperating with the police. Why is he not cooperating? Is he purposely withholding information? Or, is he referring to his claims that through his attorney he offered to take a polygraph and has tried to provide the District Attorney with evidence?
"After that, I went down to the police station and gave an un-counseled statement because I knew that I had done nothing wrong and I did not feel that I needed an attorney."
"And I passed that polygraph for the same reason that I will be acquitted of all these charges because I have done nothing wrong and I am telling the truth, and I have told the truth from day one."
Stating that you have done "nothing wrong" is not the same as saying "I did not do it." Everyone has their own definition of right and wrong. The second statement is the perfect opportunity to say "I didn't do it." On the other hand, cooperating with the police, not requesting an attorney and willingness to take a polygraph and passing it is something guilty people usually do not do.
"I have the truth behind me and it will not phase me."
"Anyone who has met me knows that this could not have happened."
"...the truth will come out."
Remember that none of these statements are denials. They are only positive statements.
On October 15, 2006, the CBS news show "60 Minutes" interviewed the three accused lacrosse players David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty. All three players answered Ed Bradley's questions in a truthful manner. CBS ended the show with Reade Seligmann stating "I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong." While this still stops short of saying "I did not do it" the boys appeared to be credible. We must remember that CBS did not broadcast the entire interview and there may have been some denials that CBS chose to edit.
