Crystal Gail Mangum

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Crystal Gail Mangum

Born:	1978 Durham, North Carolina United States
Occupation:	Stripper, Student
Children:	2

Crystal Gail Mangum (born 1978) is an African-American woman known for her accusation that three Duke University lacrosse players raped her in March 2006.^[1] She previously served in the United States Navy and is a single mother of two. At the time of her accusations, she was working as a stripper for the Allure Escort Service^[2][3] in Durham, North Carolina, and was attending North Carolina Central University. She is reportedly a petite, soft-spoken woman who is "described by friends as a caring mother and a hard worker." ^[4] Mangum used "Precious" as her working name on March 13 according to the statement of Kim Roberts and is sometimes referred to by that name in the blogosphere discussions of the case.

Contents 1 Duke scandal 2 Education and military background 3 Criminal history and credibility 4 December 2006 5 Notes

[edit] Duke scandal

Main article: 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal

In March 2006, Mangum and another female, Kim Roberts, were hired to perform as exotic dancers at a house in Durham. The residence was rented at the time by three members of the Duke University Lacrosse team.^[5] Duke University purchased the property prior to the rape allegations.^[6] After being involuntarily committed to the Durham Access Center (a mental health and substance abuse facility) later that night, she told somebody for the first time that she was raped by three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team.^[7][8] The investigation has led to the indictment of three members of the lacrosse team. David Evans^[9], Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty have been charged with first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. Duke's nationally ranked lacrosse team's season was suspended for the rest of the season as a result. The event has drawn national attention and highlighted racial tensions in the local North Carolina community. It has also led to intense criticism of the district attorney in the case, Michael Nifong.

On 16 April 2006, Jesse Jackson promised to pay for the rest of her tuition regardless of the outcome of this case.^[10][11] On 21 April 2006, the talk show host Tom Leykis learned the name of the accuser and announced it on his radio show.^[12]

[edit] Education and military background

• Associate's Degree, Durham Technical Community College^[13]

• Coursework in Police Psychology, North Carolina Central University^[2]

• Radio Operator & Navigator, United States Navy^[4]
  • Mangum enlisted in the fall of 1996 for two years of active duty with six additional years in the reserves. She began her duty in the summer of 1997, but was discharged in 1998. The U.S. Navy has not released the reason for this discharge^[4]

[edit] Criminal history and credibility

Lawyers for the Duke lacrosse players have said that she was intoxicated and possibly on drugs.^[14] Defense attorney Bill Thomas urged her to retract her statement, saying that the rape allegations were concocted to avoid a charge of public drunkenness. The Duke defense lawyers or media reports have said that:

• DNA results revealed that the woman had sex with a man who was not a Duke lacrosse player. Attorney Joseph Cheshire said the tests indicated DNA from a "single male source" came from a vaginal swab taken from the accuser. Media outlets reported that this DNA was from her boyfriend.^[15]

• She was convicted of stealing a car and sentenced to 3 weekends in detention. (In 2002, she stole a taxi from a man to whom she was giving a lap dance. A high speed chase then ensued, and when the deputy chasing her approached the stolen taxi on foot, she tried to run over him. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of larceny, speeding to elude arrest, assault on a government official and driving while impaired.)^[16]Criminal record

• She had made a similar claim in the past which she did not pursue. "On Aug. 18, 1996, the dancer - then 18 years old - told a police officer in Creedmoor she had been raped by three men in June 1993, according to a police document. She did not pursue the allegations. The officer who took the woman's report 10 years ago asked her to write a detailed timeline of the night's events and bring the account back to the police. "Apparently she never returned," Granville County DA Sam Currin said."^[17]

• The accuser told authorities that in 1998, her husband threatened to kill her. However, she did not appear at the court hearing and thus the charges were dropped.^[18]

• The accuser frequently passed out while performing as an exotic dancer at the Platinum Club in Hillsborough, according to the former club manager. The former manager also stated that Mangum had to be dragged out of the establishment onto gravel either one or two nights prior to the March 13 party. "She was heavy. It took four or five of us to carry her outside. She was dead weight. That's how passed out she was. She never woke up. We could have put the scratches on her. That could be how she got them."^[19] The former manager went on to describe the accuser as "a club employee whose problems with other dancers and customers sometimes made it hard for her to make money," citing an event in which she started to pull a female customer's hair.^[20]

• According to the Platinum Club owner, the accuser danced at the club on March 23, 24, and 25. Those were the same dates she told doctors she was "in excruciating pain from the [...] beating." The owner said the accuser did not say anything about being raped 10 days earlier.^[21] Similarly, 60 Minutes released a video of her allegedly dancing at the club less than two weeks after the alleged incident, again raising doubts as to how "traumatized" she actually was.^[22]

• The strip club's security officer said that the accuser told co-workers four days after the alleged incident that she "was going to get money from some boys at a Duke party who hadn't paid her," adding that she essentially said, "I'm going to get paid by the white boys." The security guard did not make a big deal of it "because no one takes her seriously."^[23]

[edit] December 2006

On December 14, 2006, defense attorneys filed papers in which they allege that DNA testing in the Duke lacrosse rape case found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear, but none from any team member. The testing was conducted at a private laboratory for the prosecution. The papers were filed by attorneys for lacrosse players Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans. They complained that the information about DNA from other men was not disclosed in a report prosecutors provided earlier in 2006 to the defense. Also, on December 15, 2006, it was reported that Ms. Mangum is pregnant and the judge in the case has ordered a paternity test.^[24] Defense attorneys said, "It's impossible for any of these young men to have fathered that child," while the district attorney similarly stated that he has no reason to believe any of the players is the father of the woman's child. She is reportedly due in February of 2007.^[24]

[edit] Notes

Persondata
NAME	Mangum, Crystal Gail
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Rape accuser
DATE OF BIRTH	1978
PLACE OF BIRTH	Durham, North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH