Crystal Mangum Admitted Her 2006 Duke Lacrosse Rape Case Was a Lie— Where Is She Now?

Content warning: This article mentions rape.

The early 2000s were known for highlighting many unspeakable crimes that are still being debated today. In March 2006, one of those cases involved a woman named Crystal Mangum, who accused three Duke University Lacrosse players of raping her in a bathroom at an off-campus party. Mangum and another woman were reportedly hired as exotic dancers for the party when the alleged attack occurred. Now, in 2024, she claimed it never happened.

On a December 2024 podcast episode of Let's Talk With Kat, Mangum told host Katerena DePasquale that she lied about being raped, an allegations she had maintained for nearly two decades. She also asked the men she accused — Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans — for forgiveness.

Since her remark, many want to know what happened to Mangum and what she's doing now. More importantly (in some cases), those following the case want answers as to why she lied.

Mangum maintained the story that the lacrosse players raped her since she first took legal action against Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans. In her 2008 memoir, The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story, Mangum further stood by her story and said she would "never say that nothing at all happened that night." However, after a life-changing event, she told DePasquale on Let's Talk with Kat that it was time to confess the truth.

In 2013, Mangum was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after stabbing her boyfriend, per CNN. She was sentenced to 14 years and is expected to be released on Feb. 27, 2006, though she has maintained she didn't kill her boyfriend on purpose.

Mangum confessed to lying about being raped by the lacrosse players while serving her prison sentence at The North Carolina Department of Corrections. She credited her "growth," reading the Bible, and her faith as the reason she found during her sentence, which included her feeling free enough to admit her mistake.

“I’m a living witness of God’s forgiveness,” Mangum declared. “That night, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and Dave Evans took me into their home, and they trusted."

"The Bible says that you shouldn’t do harm to your neighbor that lives trustingly beside you, and they were my brothers and they trusted me that I wouldn’t betray their trust and I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't," she added. "And that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me."

Mangum admitted that she lied about being raped because of her circumstances at the time. The former North Carolina Central University, who was 28 when the rape allegations began, said she was in a space where she “wanted validation from people and not from God," which she said led to her troubles. However, Mangum said she doesn't regret anything that transpired during that era, though she continued asking the lacrosse players for forgiveness.

"I want them to know that I love them, and they didn’t deserve that, and I hope they can forgive me,” she said. “And I hope they can heal and trust God and know that God loves them.”

During Mangum's case, Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans were each indicted and charged with multiple crimes including rape, though there was never a trial. However, after none of their DNA was found in her body, prosecutors declared the players innocent.

Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans eventually sued former University President Richard Brodheads and Duke University after Mangum's case was dismissed.

According to People, they graduated from other Ivy League universities and have moved on. As of this writing, none of the men Mangum accused have addressed her admission publicly.