Monday, April 24: Comments closed on this post. A defense lawyer wants to see the evidence. Read and discuss the latest news.
Friday, April 21: Comments closed. Read and discuss the latest news on the case.
Thursday, April 20: Looking for pictures of duke stripper?
Tuesday, April 18: This post is closed to comments. Read the latest news about the arrest of two lacrosse players.
Friday, April 14: Comments closed. Read the latest, The “Black” Helen of Troy?, and discuss.
Update III: I like this:
My recommendation to Duke: When they file the civil suit, do not back down. File a countersuit against the woman and the local abuse center for double the amount they are asking. You cannot stop the Lavender Mafia by paying it off.
My message to men and real women on college campuses everywhere: Stay away from feminists and strippers. The last thing you want to date is a girl who studies feminism. Be sure she believes in equal rights for men to be in the family. Make certain she rejects feminism before even asking her out on a date. Get to know her previous boyfriend to find out why they broke up. If she says he is a jerk but he isn’t, you probably have a feminist on your hands.
Start a men’s rights group on your campus. Insist on equal rights for normal heterosexual men to be politically organized and to have their views on social equality heard. Demand the creation of a men’s studies program that operates completely independently of the women’s studies department. Real women will support you in this. Be sure to include them in your work.
Update II (4/12): Throughout the day I’ll add links to this post. Scroll down for updates.
[Google juice at work…a horrible distinction. :?]
DA Mike Nifong’s political rivals have criticism all around, but here’s an excerpt about his handling of the case so far. From the Herald Sun:
…Freda Black and Keith Bishop said Nifong misled the community by saying he believed a rape had occurred even before DNA evidence became available….Nifong would have been well advised to remain publicly silent about the case, rather than granting some 70 interviews — many of them to national media outlets — in one week, according to his opponents.
The district attorney’s office – in a written request for a court order to obtain DNA samples from 46 lacrosse team members — said the DNA testing would “immediately” provide “conclusive evidence” as to which three lacrosse players raped the dancer at a North Buchanan Boulevard house party last month. (Emphases added)
But we know it didn’t provide conclusive evidence. What now, Mike? In other news, families of Duke lacrosse players are fighting back. Based on the word of one woman, a university, its students, and its heritage are being vilified. The whole, highly-charged racial mess is supremely ignorant, but it’s good copy.
Mike Nifong said this investigation is still open, and as I wrote yesterday, it should remain open. At this point, we can only assume he’s investigating other possible suspects. Where was the stripper before she showed up at Duke? Can we assume he’s questioning and testing those people? If those people are black, his racial crusade is lost. We’ll see what develops in this sordid mess…
Nifong has been “overly vigilant” but has arrested no one.
Peter Bradley on fake-hating.
Here’s an earlier story about the strange 911 call.
Blogger Roscoe blogs about something I haven’t thought much about: potential witnesses at the party. Is Mike Nifong pressing anyone else who attended the party, aside from the players, about what happened that night? Surely, someone saw/heard something. It’s virtually impossible to keep that many people quiet, especially if the DA starts hinting about accessory charges. Until we know what the DA is or isn’t doing, we’ll have to assume. Step up, indeed.
In that regard, should we assume Nifong is doing something besides giving stump speeches to black groups who won’t be voting for him anyway? Whatever he’s doing, this is certain: Nifong has set race relations in Durham back 50 years. So much for the presumption of innocence and due process.
Double murderer O.J. Simpson got more respect.
Emerging details about that e-mail.
Editorial: “And after all the hyperbole, the DNA evidence, which the DA strongly hinted would be devastating, has come back negative, and he is scrambling to save face and keep the cameras rolling and pointed toward him. All of this has little to do, of course, with the question of whether a crime was commited and by whom.”
———————————————————————————————————————————
Update: John Leo says, “Duke prosecutor should keep his mouth shut.”
The DA, who I hear is up for re-election, pandered to potential constituents at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a predominantly black college in Durham. He said the stripper identified one of the alleged rapists. That only proves she was at the party. I imagine the stripper can and probably will identify several more people who were in the house that night. But hey, he’s the attorney; I’m just a J.D.
Marc Sheppard: “Conspicuously — yet not surprisingly — absent however, has been the Rev. Al Sharpton. I presume the Reverend is looking for a way to ease himself into this situation without reminding the world that he has yet to apologize for the Tawana Brawley hoax he was complicit in 18 years ago.”
Neal Boortz: “End of the Duke rape case? No way!”
From the Herald Sun:
Shirika Brammell [NCCU student] said the results left her “surprised and shocked.”
“I was expecting some DNA to be found with the fingernails,” she said.
The alleged victim said some of her fake fingernails came off as she clawed at one of the attacker’s arms. Police later recovered four nails in a bathroom at the party house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
Gwen Ifill interviews a Durham journalist.
A criminologist says the DA is “selling scandal for votes.”
More from Talk Left: “He [the DA] can do DNA testing till the cows come home. If there was none in or on the accuser, none under her fingernails and none on her belongings, how will he ever prove a rape?”
While at Talk Left, I found a link (via this post) to a March 31 story that includes a timeline of events. This mess was strange from the beginning.
——————————————————————————————————————————
As reported yesterday, no DNA match between 46 members of Duke University’s lacrosse team and the stripper was found. The following are my predictions and amateur analysis: 1-3 are what should happen; 4-6 are what will happen:
1) Evidence of Sexual Assault — Mike Nifong, the Durham district attorney, says he won’t drop the case. He should drop the case against the lacrosse players but not the sexual assault case itself.
I can’t remember which story I read this, but whoever examined the woman after the alleged attack found evidence consistent with a sexual assault. If the stripper had bruises when she arrived at the party, something obviously happened to her. That’s what the DA needs to investigate.
[Update: Hat tip to Different River for pointing me to the search warrant affidavit, which contains info about the “victim’s” condition.]
Theory: As I wrote yesterday, if the stripper had sex that night, it wasn’t with any of the 46 lacrosse players. It’s possible that she had sex with the untested black player or someone else at the party, but I think the stripper was roughed up by her “boyfriend” or some “client” beforehand. She likely arrived at the party drunk and felt like causing a scene after one or some of the attendees insulted her. A house full of drunk white guys would only lend credibility to her fake claims.
She used the legal system and played on people’s resentment, envy, and anger to exact revenge against the “rich” college boys.
2) Prosecutorial Misconduct? — Wendy McElroy cites the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
3) False Police Report — If the stripper wasn’t raped by three (four?) lacrosse players at the party and made up the whole thing, she should be charged with making a false police report. Duke University should file in civil court against the stripper for defamation, although they’d never see one red cent. By the way, has anyone tracked down the fake rape accuser’s name?
4) Conspiracy Theories — Get ready to hear some of the most absurd conspiracy theories since Katrina evacuees claimed they heard a bomb exploding near the levees: the lab technician (even if he/she is black) “fixed” the test and doctored the results; the white lawyers are lying about the DNA test results; some player’s rich daddy paid off the DA to bungle the case, etc.
Some of the stripper’s black supporters may doubt her story now, but cognitive dissonance or resentment (or boredom) will cause them to latch on to any plausible-sounding conspiracy theory instead of conceding the obvious.
5) The Stripper Who Cried Wolf — The next time a black woman cries white gang rape, people will be more skeptical because the fake rape allegations at Duke will be fresh in their minds. The next time any woman cries rape, people will be more skeptical because the fake rape allegations at Duke will be fresh in their minds. It’s not fair, but it’s human nature.
6) Victim Nation — This fiasco adds fuel to the victimhood fire in America that is already burning out of control. No one is responsible for his own actions, and it’s always someone else’s fault that we’ve made a sordid mess of our lives. If you’re black, all you need do is tell your sob story to bored, useless “civil rights” groups like the NAACP, and the jaded, left-leaning media will handle your PR.
You know what? I’d probably be more successful as a writer if I joined the victim horde. I could blame my former drinking habit on the chains that bound my dead ancestors. To excuse my previously promiscuous ways, I could point to the paucity of black faces on the idiot box. I could call the EEOC and file a race discrimination claim because my white competitor has more clients than I do. Or I could sue my favorite clothing store because the last time I was there, the saleswoman kept eyeing me and following me around. Oh…wait a second…she’s black.
This might work: I could sue the corporation and claim that since we’re both suffering from the “legacy of slavery,” we should both be compensated for racist store policies that force her to eye other black women who shop at the store. 
A few wise words by an unknown author to women who take off their clothes for a living and men who give drunken parties and hire women to take off their clothes:
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it.
(Image by CBS/The Early Show)
I must say, Ms. Barber, we certainly are on the same page. I can’t say if black people need, as you said in your previous post, to be “placated and and coddled like whiny toddlers” (my guess is you don’t), but the white power structure, in particular the liberal white power structure ensconced as it is in education and academia, surely behaves most of the time as though you do.
This is the “soft bigotry” we hear so much about. Why, we can’t impose our standards of behavior on our brothers and sisters of color. Why, we can’t expect people of color, especially those with a history of slavery and Jim Crow, to compete and perform as equals with the white majority. Why, we can’t expect foreign nationals, deprived and perhaps abused in their homelands, to accept and abide by our rule of law when they’re only coming here in search of better lives for themselves and their families. Why, we can’t expect Arabs and other Muslims to function under decent systems of democratic self-rule. Why, if the downtrodden of the world feel they must resort to rape, pillage and murder to mitigate centuries of oppression, who are we to expect otherwise? Well, lots of us do expect otherwise and when we say as much we’re accused of racial insensitivity if not outright racism. It’s gotten beyond ridiculous and it’s getting us exactly nowhere.
At this point, I don’t know how much can be accomplished from my (i.e. whitey’s) end. We conservatives don’t seem to be getting anywhere in our attempts to convince liberals that this double standard of low expectations is every bit as insidious as outright discrimination. Scratch a white liberal and you’re likely to find a streak of bigotry that runs as long and wide as any cracker who worships at the feet of David Duke.
It’s up to people like you, La Shawn, to lead the way. You’re doing a fine job so far.
Comment by Kyda Sylvester — 04.11.06 @ 12:00 pm
The “Straw man of presumed innocence”
“Just for a minute, forget about DNA testing or even the question of rape. There are established and profoundly disturbing dimensions of this incident being effectively shielded by the straw man of protecting the presumed innocent.”
Does she prefe…
Trackback by Different River — 04.11.06 @ 12:04 pm
I’d add a little something here, but The Sista has hit the nail on the head, as usual. So I can only chime in with the other comments. It is up to the intelligent, honest and brave commentators of color to lead the way. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY takes more heat from misguided liberals of all sway than the black conservatives who tell the truth.
Comment by Father Merrin — 04.11.06 @ 12:06 pm
Points To Consider Regarding The Duke Rape Case Investigation (Lessons From The Past?) [UPDATE]
The DNA results came in and were released to the defense attorneys who declared in a press conference that none of the Duke players’ DNA were present anywhere. Furthermore according to the defense attorney at the press conference, this evidence proves…
Trackback by The World According To Carl — 04.11.06 @ 12:08 pm
As I noted in an earlier post my son is at Duke and 3 of his frat brothers are on the team. From the start this was a set up by a crazy Hooker. It took the DA two days to decide to proceed with an investigation Why? No doubt the main reason he proceeded is the fear that the woman would accuse him of white washing the case. He obviously knew the woman’s story had serious problems, but now he is stuck with the one he brought to the dance. He was appointed a DA and has NEVER run for office. As I mentioned earlier, he faces a Black male and a woman former Asst DA in the democrat primary, May 2nd. There is no Republican running. The winner of the primary will be the next DA.
Here is some information from campus. The boys said when she arrived she was screwed up. They didn’t think she was just drunk. Note that she stayed in the bathroom for 20 some minutes and then passed out on the back porch. That would not be consistent with a crack head or meth addict, they’d be wired up. It would be consistant with a herion addict, it’s a downer and she would drift off to sleeep. At any rate, the Mexican Hooker has told the Denfense attornies that the Black Hooker never told her she was raped. She told the police that she was strangled and raped and sodomized, but there is no DNA anywhere on her from the boys. Did they wear gloves while they strangled her? The boys have pictures of her in the same clothes she arrived in smiling as she leaves. She was so screwed up that the boys had to help into the car. They obviously knew she was trouble and just wanted to get rid of her. The DNA also showed that she had NOT had ANY sex with ANYONE, so the nurses exam is only evidence of physical trauma. NO semen has been found on anyone. NO lubicant from a rubber was found anywhere. I think it has been noted that she earlier had stolen a car and attempted to run over a cop after a high speed case (two years ago). Her father says she served in the Navy and at one time was married. Her status at NCCU is probably a joke. My guess she is a part time student taking classes to get the GI bill money. Remember, they PAY you to go to class.
Ask yourself a simple question, do you or anyone in the country think that the players on the top lacrosse team in the nation at one of the top university’s in the nation have ANY trouble finding girls to go out with? If you do your an idiot, or went to Chapel Hill, inside joke.
Male Duke students do not have to troll with Hookers to hook up, if you know what I mean.
After May 2nd this will be all over, but as former Labor Sec Donivan (sp?) said, who do I see about getting my reputation back? Good Question for the boys on the team.
Comment by Kemperman — 04.11.06 @ 12:10 pm
Lashawn, you need to run for Mayor of DC in the upcoming fall election.
The date to file for candidacy is May 12, and after that, you can begin collecting the necessary signatures to have your name on the ballot in the Republican primary. The primary will be held around September 12, with the election of course being in November.
If you won the primary, (currently, there is no viable candidate for the GOP), you’d most likely face Linda Cropp, current City Council Chair.
Fundraising would not be a concern since you have a prominent conservative blog, and running for mayor by showcasing your beliefs through this blog and public speeches would be a great way to geninuely bring change to the country and this great city.
I’m pretty sure you would have to open a bank account or some other sort of account that was designated as your fundraising account and file that information with the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics.
You could use this blog incredibly well to increase your name recognition and talk about the issues DC Voters must take into account when voting.
People might call you a sell out, but if you could respond the same way in public campaign as you did so beautifully in a post below, it would be great for the future of the city.
I’d be the first to donate to your campaign.
Please take this request seriously.
Comment by lashawnbarberformayorofDC2006 — 04.11.06 @ 12:22 pm
While I appreciate your support, in a thousand lifetimes I’d never run for political office. I don’t have the temperament or the BS skills needed for the job. Besides, DC voters would never elect an outspoken, politically conservative, fundamentalist Christian, outspoken (did I say that already?), blunt black woman to run this city. They don’t want that much diversity.
Comment by La Shawn — 04.11.06 @ 12:27 pm
Attorneys: No DNA Match in Duke Scandal
Attorneys: No DNA Match Between Members of Duke University’s Men’s Lacrosse Team and Exotic Dancer
Trackback by Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — 04.11.06 @ 12:32 pm
Shouldn’t the rape kit have included blood tests to determine if the alleged victim had been drinking or doing drugs? I think this is standard procedure to document whether or not a woman could have been too drunk to consent, so this issue should be cleared up based on the tests unless there is an exemption for black strippers who look like they are high, or something.
I don’t get why the DA sounds so belligerent today. It is possible he has some other evidence but I can’t see what that would be, we’ve not heard of any witness statements supporting the woman’s version of the story, so far there doesn’t seem to be any physical evidence that supports her story, so why would he be so aggressive?
How is he going to charge anyone? I suppose he could convene a grand jury, but don’t you need a legitimate suspect before you can do that?
If he has other evidence that supports the woman’s story, let’s hear it, if not, he needs to really keep his mouth shut.
Comment by Cas — 04.11.06 @ 12:44 pm
La Shawn,
I am ashamed to admit this now. I used to be a bouncer for a strip club outside of Morgantown while I went to college at WVU. To make extra money the strippers would perform at parties in the frat houses. I was brought along as security IF the girls did not want to have sex for money.
I made the comment when the story emerged that this will turn out to be about money. My wife was appalled that I would say this. It looks like it may turn out that I am right.
Comment by Steve — 04.11.06 @ 12:46 pm
Quick question: Reports state that there was no DNA match to any of the Duke lacrosse players. But I’m not sure about something . . . was ANY male DNA found? There’s a difference.
If male DNA was found (i.e. in semen) that does NOT match the Duke players, this would seem to suggest that the accuser — if raped — was raped by another man (or men) entirely. This would seem to further exonerate the Duke fellows and should force the police and DA to turn the investigation in another direction.
Most people seem to be assuming that no male DNA was found at all (hence the suggestion that the “rapists” may have used condoms). But if another (non-Duke lacrosser) man’s DNA showed up in the rape kit, and if the DA is STILL threatening to press rape charges against the Duke Boys . . . well, then I’d say the DA should be subject to liability for malicious prosecution.
Comment by SteelCity — 04.11.06 @ 12:52 pm
Your observations are astute. What is really poignant to me is the part about the “stripper who cried wolf” syndrome. Very unfortunate.
Comment by Randy — 04.11.06 @ 12:59 pm
That’s why lawyers use precise language, although it sounds strange. They probably found male DNA, but it didn’t match the accusers’. The stripper probably had sex before the party, which means they need to test her earlier clients and/or whoever she’s sleeping with for free.
Comment by La Shawn — 04.11.06 @ 1:00 pm
Well stated! As my Ganny used to say “Hell gonna be full!”
Comment by Asa — 04.11.06 @ 1:25 pm
I can’t understand for the life of me why in the world they would cancel the season for Lacrosse because of these accusations.
Comment by Dkelsmith — 04.11.06 @ 1:38 pm
The Duke Lacrosse team deserves an apology, especially by the media. Oh, I dunno, I would have thought the media would give these guys a chance before burning them on the stake. Anyway, I don’t watch the mainstream media for news, for the same reason I don’t wipe my *** with hot peppers or chew on glass.
Comment by MondayMorningQuarterBacks — 04.11.06 @ 1:40 pm
CSI Durham: No DNA match in Duke Lacrosse Case
DNA test results have failed to connect any members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team to the stripper who accused the team of sexual assault. ESPN.com news services has an article about the allegations. “…There is no DNA
Trackback by MondayMorningQuarterBacks.com — 04.11.06 @ 1:41 pm
My guess from the time I heard she’d showed up bruised was that she was indeed raped, but at an earlier party, and was subsequently confused (due to the trauma, drugs, or both) as to where she’d been raped and by whom.
Comment by htom — 04.11.06 @ 1:43 pm
Dklsmith,
That has crossed my mind also. What if this were a Sweet 16 basketball team or one of the college football teams (which has been accused in the past)…
don’t recall any teams dropping out due in the past.
Comment by Renee — 04.11.06 @ 1:45 pm
I want to thank you for speaking out about this issue. I have enjoyed reading the responses and your additional comments. It would be so nice if skin color, age, class or gender would be invisible. But then it would be a very boring world. Too bad people can’t be people instead of categories.
Comment by Chris — 04.11.06 @ 2:26 pm
Duke Lacrosse Case: DA Will Continue Investigation
This is a continuation of yesterday’s post on the DNA results in the Duke lacrosse players’ case which failed to find any of the players’ DNA on or within or on the surface of the accuser’s body or any of…
Trackback by TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime — 04.11.06 @ 3:43 pm
Fallout From the Duke “Rape” Case
So what we now learn is that basically we have a false accusation. LaShawn seems to have been about the first to call it and her follow up post appears to be right on the money.
I feel sorry for the Lacrosse team who seem to have been outrageously…
Trackback by L'Ombre de l'Olivier — 04.11.06 @ 4:27 pm
Why does everyone refer to this woman as a Stripper or Exotic Dancer? She was an “Escort” who stripped and danced exotically. An Escort is a prostitute, this is a well know fact. However, not all strippers or exotic dancers are escorts/prostitutes. As an “escort” the likelihood of pre-existing bruises, cuts and sexual wounds from earlier in the evening or prior day engagements increases significantly.
Comment by Slurpie — 04.11.06 @ 4:48 pm
Fake Duke Rape
La Shawn Barber has predictions about what’s ahead in the case she’s confidently calling Fake Rape at Duke….
Trackback by Cardinal Martini: A USC Trojan's Weblog — 04.11.06 @ 4:53 pm
You know, La Shawn, I have to wonder if things turn out that she’s really lying and all… would it be considered a hate crime?
Does she hate white people more than she hates her rapist?
Comment by RepJ — 04.11.06 @ 5:21 pm
Steve:
I spent 1978-82 in Morgantown. Quite the party college.
This “escort” sounds like she fits right in at her college.
In this morning’s NPR, some fellow student said that she “simply didn’t believe the DNA evidence”. The same argument was applied to the OJ Simpson trial.
“The Judge” - Fox News’s Andrew Napolitano said, on Special Report today, that a case of INNOCENCE established by DNS has NEVER been won by an accuser since DNA technology has been used.
There simply isn’t better evidence. This North Carolina Central student talking NPR is no doubt a product of the NC public schools. Shameful.
And the “racial discussions” and “discussions of inequality” and “female abuse” that have infected the Guilty Whites of Duke are also shameful.
Successful White Males who have been admitted to Duke, a very conpetitive university, are somehow being asked to soul-search and feel guilty that they are “better than” the poor Blacks that go to the other college. Shameful.
White Achievement, again, is being given second-class status by the underachievers.
Comment by Frank Zavisca (Home) — 04.11.06 @ 6:33 pm
Re: Kemperman’s — “If you do your an idiot, or went to Chapel Hill, inside joke.”
Geez, Kemp. I’m a graduate of the public university eight miles west of your son’s school, and from time to time we of the lighter blue common stripe can spot grammatical errors….
Kidding aside, I actually do find myself pulling for a Duke team in this instance. As a North Carolina attorney, I’ll offer an additional observation I haven’t seen in any of the recent posts yet– that is, that Joseph Cheshire V and Wade Smith have reputations as being two of the finest criminal defense attorneys in our state. They are intelligent, hard working, forthright and honest. Neither needs to be a “publicity hound,” and neither would come forth to the press with a comment that might ultimately come back to haunt them or their clients at trial. Nothing is harder for a jury to ignore than an attorney’s discredited boast ….
For this reason, I put great stock in their willingness to come forward with their views of the state’s DNA test results. Their unequivocal descriptions — that there is no DNA from any of the 46 tested boys to be found on the accuser or her possessions left at the scene — rings loud and clear as physical proof to corroborate the questions they’ve already raised about the accuser’s story. I simply cannot see how a District Attorney can go forward to bring charges and go to trial when the prospective defendants already have exonerating physical proof to counter the accuser’s inconsistent stories.
So there. I’m pulling for a Duke team — the LAX team, whose only “crime” is their utter lack of foresight that they were inviting trouble with a mixture of alcohol, numerous young males, an off campus home and a couple of strippers.
As for the B-ball team — well, I still say Go to Hell Dook!!!
Comment by Stuart Egerton — 04.11.06 @ 8:49 pm
I actually saw a billboard, as well as at least one bus sign, in the wonderful environs of Detroit with that scumbag Sharpton on it with his stupid radio show.
The catch phrase? Integrity, and informed.
As I drove up Mack Ave, and I wanted to puke at how disgusting it is, just the appearance in THE DAY.
How can the people of Detroit blame the scuzzy s*** that people live in Detroit on white people?
Truly amazing. Hey, all I need to do is listen to the Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, Esq. III and Al Sharpton to get my daily walking papers.
Lord help us.
LaShawn, you’re something else.
Thanks.
I think. 
- Admin
Comment by benrand — 04.11.06 @ 8:49 pm
RE: James. I am white and find lots of black women attractive. For some reason I thought Sinthia McKinney was attractive, but the conversations would not be.
Re : strippers. It sounds like prostitution and no payment to me. $800 for two strippers is an average price I think for just dancing nothing else. Mob of 40 drunk males, 2 strippers = not a good equation. A good stripper will pay for a personal bouncer at a private party. It’s not wise to go on your own. you want to get home safe. Everyone likes stippers even if they say not. Scan media and you will see how common it is.
people shocked that young males like sex??? get a life. Quit trying to emasculate society like some old Fox news anchors. Smoking , Drinking , carousing it’s all fine. Rape, stealing, lieing, cheating not so fine and should be jail time.
Comment by Jd — 04.11.06 @ 9:14 pm
La Shawn Barber Is All Over The Duke “Rape” Story
La Shawn Barber’s Corner - Fake Rape at Duke: Next Steps As reported yesterday, no DNA match between 46 members of Duke University’s lacrosse team and the stripper was found. The following are my predictions and amateur analysis: 1-3 are…
Trackback by Just Some Poor Schmuck — 04.11.06 @ 9:35 pm
The elephant in the media living room
The Durham DA appears resolute in the Duke lacrosse case. His DNA dragnet came up empty, but he still maintains that someone at the team party raped the accuser.
Trackback by lead and gold — 04.12.06 @ 1:33 am
Why would The DA order dna samples from the players before he had a suspect dna profile from the alleged victim for comparison? Sounds like a waste of time and money. Oh that’s right, not his money. What about 46 families that gotta put down about 10k apiece for agood lawyer? you said they’re not residents and won’t be voting here? Now I get it.
Comment by pw — 04.12.06 @ 1:45 am
I just have to say it: rape has been demoted to a misdemeanor level because it has been so readily and foolishly mis-applied.
Rape used to mean that a man jumped a woman and forced sex on her and it was a felony that could result in the death penalty.
Then we got to posturing over whether a prostitute could be raped. The PC police decided that it even prostitutes have dignity and get to say “no.” Think about that. Prostitution is a contract business. All manner or disputes can break out over the exchange of goods.
So here is a professional foreplay artist who presents her wares with the purpose of arousing a team of ready to be aroused jocks and she goes into their lair, their turf to do her “big dirty.”
If she gets touched or penetrated, our crazy, topsy-turvey legal system has a way to call it rape. Well, we have all manner of degrees of murder, so we should apply degrees to rape as well.
In the escort/stripper’s case her charge should be kept at no higher than twenty-second degree rape. Right next to the crime of having someone look at you when you appeared naked in church.
I do not defend unwanted sexual contact. But let’s stop demeaning the terrible crime of rape.
Comment by Heliotrope — 04.12.06 @ 8:16 am
The Race Card
LaShawn Barber nails victimhood right on the head:
Trackback by Girl on the Right — 04.12.06 @ 8:31 am
the players used a broom on the girl.
that’s why there’s no dna.
don’t be so quick to attack the victim (the girl).
I assume you’re a lawyer, based on the name, e-mail address, and URL, which makes your humorously terse comment even funnier. You know full well that the broom and many other items are likely being tested for DNA. While we patiently wait for more test results, I’ll give you some unsolicited advice: don’t be so quick to attack the players. - Admin
Comment by dc metro contract attorneys — 04.12.06 @ 9:03 am
There’s plenty boneheadedness to go around here - between the team, the stripper, the people at the stripper’s college, the professional victim-mongers, the news media that so froths at the mouth for sensational stories that they’ll put stuff up that’s not really substantiated…
I don’t know. I will say it’s stories like this that make me question WHY colleges even have athletic programs - in my experience, many of the “student athletes” are exploited, barely make it through college, and don’t really have a good shot at good employment once they’re out. (Do teams have “faculty sponsors” any more to make them toe the line? If I were the “team mom” for this lacrosse team, no way in heck they’d have had a stripper at their party…)
Comment by ricki — 04.12.06 @ 9:19 am
Stuart, I didn’t say I went to Duke, I am poor ole State college graduate, who can barely read or write. You know what Duke and Carolina students have in common? They both got into Carolina. Thanks for your support! Kemp
Comment by Kemperman — 04.12.06 @ 9:26 am
Kemperman,
“Male Duke students do not have to troll with Hookers to hook up, if you know what I mean.”
I am on the side of innocent until proven guilty but you need to look at what your saying. One of the few facts that is not in dispute is that the players hired these girls. These girls were definitely strippers and probably “escorts” meaning prostitutes. Maybe all male Duke Students have instant access to casual sex (I kind of doubt it), but does this make them less likely to be rapists? How so? Their sexual appetities are constantly satisfied so the are less likely to rape? This makes absolutely no sense. Once again, it is undisputed that these girls were hired by players on the team. As someone who knows some of the team members, you have provided the only evidence I have read that makes me seriously doubt their innocence.
Comment by pepster — 04.12.06 @ 9:44 am
Comments from someone who knows them makes you doubt their innocence? Unless he said they are abusive lechers, does that make any kind of sense? And as for the availability of casual sex, were you ever in college? I am saddened to say it, but finding a willing partner is never a problem for an athelete on a college campus.
Comment by Ian MacD. — 04.12.06 @ 10:00 am
This woman has been lying to her own father for at least 4 years…..she has been stripping (or at least started outstripping before moving on to escort) since 2002, yet her father just found out about his daughter’s occupation because of this mess. She has some serious credibility problems. Compare the two article excerpts below
Father learned daughter connected to Duke case from media reports (Duke Lacrosse Coach Threatened)
Knight Ridder Newspapers; WRAL; NBC17 | TONYA JAMESON
Posted on 03/31/2006 8:03:52 PM PST by Howlin
DURHAM, N.C. - The father of the woman who has accused members of the Duke lacrosse team of sexually assaulting her said he didn’t find out that his daughter was the reported victim - and that she is an exotic dancer - until a reporter visited his house.
Duke Lacrosse Investigation Heats Up
By ALLEN G. BREED : AP National Writer
Apr 7, 2006 : 7:03 pm ET
….In June 2002, police records show, she stole the taxi of a man to whom she was giving a lap dance at a Durham strip club. The records say she led a sheriff’s deputy on a winding chase at speeds of up to 70 mph, and tried to run him down as he approached the cab on foot….
Comment by Slurpie — 04.12.06 @ 10:43 am
I read about the stripper’s previous brush with the law but didn’t mention it because I thought doing so would obscure the real issue. Too bad race-baiters LIVE to obscure real issues.
Comment by La Shawn — 04.12.06 @ 10:50 am
My Take on the Duke Rape Accusations
I have thought for some time that the Duke students accused of raping that exotic dancer (read stripper) didn’t do it. I wish I had time to blog about it earlier, so I could have looked like a visionary and all that. Now that the DNA tests have come b…
Trackback by Roscoe's Blog — 04.12.06 @ 11:13 am
Pepester,
I know none of the players, I do know that male students at Duke have no problem finding dates. Remember, 8 miles down the road is UNC-CH which is over 50% female(over 16,000 women, more than Duke’s total enrollment), and those girls really dig boys that can read. Why would my suggestion that men like sex make you have doubts about their gult, and yes men that have free access to causal sex, DON’T pay for it. I’ll leave off the unless they go to UNC, because Stuart is supporting the boys. And by the way, no broomstick. Let’s assume they did, then where are the fibers from the broom? Remember the girl said she scratched and fought against the attack, gosh, no DNA ANYWHERE on her or her false nails. Guess the boys had those handy gloves to wear while they strangled her. Give it up, this is total hooker BS.
Comment by Kemperman — 04.12.06 @ 12:00 pm
I certainly do not think there is enough evidence to cause me to doubt the woman veracity at this point. The search warrant affidavit states some damning things. The nurse said the evidence was consistent with being assaulted anally, vaginally, and orally. At the residence they found her fingernails, make up bag, cell phone, and identification. They also found her cash. Those are odd things to leave behind.
Comment by Kemperman — 04.11.06 @ 12:10 pm writes:
“…she stayed in the bathroom for 20 some minutes and then passed out on the back porch.”
In addition, more than one writer has written that she is an escort and escorts are prostitutes. Escorts are not necessarily prostitutes. Did some of these young men think the women were prostitutes? These women were paid to dance. I am certain that if they also normally or occasionally sell sexual favors for extra cash at parties the press would have discovered that by now.
I do think the DA is stupid, hopefully he will be voted out of office because he has grossly mishandled this case. Since the woman reported that three men at that house raped her he should have impanel a grand jury to seek evidence. Rather than accuse the whole team. Instead of having 44 additional fact witnesses, he ended up with 46 young men claiming their innocents.
Is it possible for this woman to have been raped in the bathroom of that house and other people in the house not know? Of course, that is possible. I am sure some of you people posting on this site have been to house parties. Are you aware of every that is going on in all rooms of the house during such parties? When I was in college, my sororities and I watched one another’s backs at frat parties. I will not write about some of the things I can recall from my college days, but I think we are being naive if we think things have changed that much.
Given the vile e-mail written later that night, at least one of the young men at the party was certainly not a nice person. Let me write this another way — Why should anyone be willing to believe the only people at the house party were the members of the team? Let’s be real an off campus house party with strippers and only the invited guess attended — Nobody brought another friend along. No one slipped in.
The men giving the party gave the statement of who attended the party. The same men who also denied the rape had occurred. Should the police and DA give them that much credibility? Why are they to be believe? Aren’t they suspects? Their statement could be self-serving, or more likely they did not know everything that occurred at the house during the party. She may well have been raped in the bathroom of that house, and the rapists may not have been a member of the team. The DA walked into a stupid trap reminiscent of — “if the gloves don’t fit you must acquit.”
Comment by Ellen — 04.12.06 @ 12:27 pm
Has anyone seen or heard anything about the actions or thoughts of the other stripper. I seem to remember hearing that they did not know each other and were “employed” by different agencies. Is there a good news (url link) that probes this aspect of the story.
Comment by James — 04.12.06 @ 12:49 pm
Another thought about the fight, a woman can put up a pretty good fight against three men without three men having to put up a pretty good fight against her.
I do not know what transpired, and I do not know the size differences of the folks involved. However, I think her account is interesting; she describes two men pulling her into the bathroom and three men total being in the bathroom. Nothing about fighting or resisting going to the bathroom, so that would mean there was no commotion for anyone to see. It seems more as if they laid in wait and grabbed her when she went to the bathroom.
Then there is noise. How noisy is the party? Is there loud music playing? Is there enough noise to cover her struggle? Is the other stripper dancing while the assault is occurring? If the other stripper is dancing, what are the other young men at the party doing — Watching to see if something is happening in the bathroom, or watching the other stripper perform? How difficult would it be for three men to restrain one woman no matter how much resistance she puts up? Even if they heard muffled noises, since most men would never rape anyone, why would these young men assume such a thing was occurring in the bathroom? They indicated she spent 20 minutes in the bathroom. How do they know what occurred in the bathroom?
Sexual access to a willing woman does not prevent a man from being rapist. It is a different desire. Some married men have been convicted of rape. Teddy Bundy had girl friends when he was out raping and killing female coeds.
While I would doubt that 47 men participated, or covered up such an act, I would not be surprised if three young men decided to rape a woman, they considered a hooker at party. While the other young men had no idea such a terrible thing was happening. I read her referred to as hooker, so perhaps that was the perception of three young rapist.
Another thought. I recall five high school boys in Montgomery County, Maryland horrifically beating and raping a stripper that they hired. This may well be a perception problem. The woman thinks she is a dancer, and the young men think she is a hooker. When that happens unless she brought help she is at a sever disadvantage.
Comment by Ellen — 04.12.06 @ 2:45 pm
Ellen, there is no physical evidence to link any of the players there with a crime, yet you are still inclined to believe the accuser? Yes, her injuries are consistent with sexual activity, but no DNA matches the players. If they had done it, there would be DNA from one of them somewhere.
Comment by Ian MacD. — 04.12.06 @ 2:48 pm
The vile e-mail … are we sure that it wasn’t sent by a party-goer as a prank from an unsecured computer, or via an unsecured wifi connection to the house’s network? Not saying it was, just asking.
Comment by htom — 04.12.06 @ 3:59 pm
Kemperman,
You state:
“…yes men that have free access to causal sex, DON’T pay for it.”
1. These young men did pay for these women to show up. This is one of the few facts that have been extablished. You keep making this argument and ignoring that basic fact.
2. I don’t think your assertion is true anyway. Charlie Sheen, is an example that comes to mind. He certainly has at least as much access to casual sex as a Duke Lacrosse player yet still hired Heidi Fleiss’ employees. Numerous professional athletes over the years have been known to frequent prostitutes.
3.
Comment by pepster — 04.12.06 @ 4:05 pm
Like another poster mentioned, alluding to the case at the University of Colorado. After a football program was disgraced, and AD fired, a coach embarrassed and eventually forced out, a president ousted……nobody in the media remembers to mention:
*summary judgment ruling against one accuser
*the dismissed with prejudice ruling against two of the accusers
*the the DNA proof against another false accuser that claimed it was ‘2 big black men’ that supposedly raped her…so they ‘must have been football players’
*the Katie Knida fiasco “I won’t say who did it but you just have to believe meâ€
*and the balance of the accusers were simply called in on anonymous tip line.
*the smearing of one football player whose name was plastered in the papers that wasn’t even at the party
*Not one charge
*civil cases dismissed
Comment by JasonM — 04.12.06 @ 4:26 pm
Ian MacD,
I wrote that I believe the woman may have been raped in the bathroom of the house. I did not write that members of the lacrosse team raped her. I am doubtful any one would testify under oath that only members of the lacrosse team were at the party. The men giving the party lied about who they when they requested the dancers. Why are we to believe them regarding who was at the party.
I doubt the men giving the party would have even been willing to swear under oath that no one else attended the party but lacrosse team members. That is why I believe the DA should have empaneled a grand jury.
Really, you are at a college house party and you know everyone who is at the party. How is that possible? “I swear under oath there were only 49 people in the house during the party. Absolutely no one uninvited showed up.”
The woman said: three white men in the bathroom raped me. She gave names, but said other people at the party called them by different names. Therefore, she claims three men using false names raped her. The men renting the house say the only men in the house were members of the lacrosse team. The DA takes DNA of the lacrosse team members. They are so far exonerated.
Three possibilities — (1) no rape occurred, (2) raped occurred after she left the party, (3) she raped by someone not on the lacrosse team.
Given the time-line I think it is (1) or (3), given the physical evidence I think it is (3).
I never wrote that I thought a member of the lacrosse team, and reading her affidavit, she did not say a member of the lacrosse team raped her. That is the DA’s jump base on statement by the men giving the party.
Comment by Ellen — 04.12.06 @ 4:38 pm
JasnM,
Good point about CU. By the way, I live in Denver and that was some of the most biased journalism ever printed by the two local papers. They managed to get a new president, athletic director, and coach at CU by printing flase allegations until they became accepted as fact. Disgraceful.
Comment by pepster — 04.12.06 @ 5:18 pm
2 comments:
1. htom asked about the “vile email”:
I read on a blog (some Baltimore journalist) today that the “vile email” was a take off of the Bateman character in the movie “American Psycho”, which evidently had cultish status with a few players. If you have seen the movie and read the entire email, including the part omitted by every paper (”while cuming in my Duke issue spandex”), this explanation is plausible. sorry no wifi answer
2. Pepster wrote: “Charlie Sheen, is an example that comes to mind. He certainly has at least as much access to casual sex as a Duke Lacrosse player yet still hired Heidi Fleiss’ employees”
Charlie Sheen was quoted as saying that everyone had it backwards, he paid for Fliess’ women so they would leave after sex.
Comment by Slurpie — 04.12.06 @ 6:42 pm
No DNA match with any of the alleged perpetrators. You have to wonder if someone is pulling the DA’s strings on this.
La Shawn, I don’t see Duke filing a countersuit under any circumstances. This is a university that prides itself as being more-liberal-than-thou.
In fact I would not be surprised to see some faculty members and students claiming that this incident represents the tip of the iceberg and that Duke is actually some kind of KKK headquarters. Not only would they get fawning uncritical attention from the MSM (the fact that NC was a “red” state in the last election would be mentioned in every other sentence), they could shake the administration down for “compensation” in the form of funds for whatever hokum they could cook up. A shakedown, in other words, and Duke would pay.
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi — 04.12.06 @ 8:17 pm
LaShawn Barber
Pingback by BlogWonks — 04.13.06 @ 6:52 am
Ellen, if a rape occured, it is likey from the evidence presented so far that it was before the party, not during or after. If it was someone at the party and not one of the players, why have none of them come forward to clear their names and have the shame and guilt focused on someone other than themselves?
Comment by Ian MacD. — 04.13.06 @ 8:10 am
Ellen writes: “Sexual access to a willing woman does not prevent a man from being rapist. It is a different desire. Some married men have been convicted of rape. Teddy Bundy had girl friends when he was out raping and killing female coeds.”
Under this philosophy, rape is reduced to a case of “was there penetration with permission.” But the “willing woman” concept clouds the issue.
I carry no brief for the brutal act of rape. But complicated situations resulting from miscommunication in the midst of foreplay conducted by a professional, paid foreplay specialist is something entirely different from nasty, vicious, terrifying rape.
I seriously doubt that whatever happened to this stripper and mother or two will cause her to change her lifestyle. I am not a fan of the “boys will be boys” school of thought, but a professional hormone exciter is a bit beyond stupid in my book. I don’t think that she deserves what she (possibly) got, but I think her claim of “rape” is real cheap shot at a deadly serious felony.
Comment by Heliotrope — 04.13.06 @ 8:37 am
Oh all the posters here. Ellen is the only one I’ve read that doesn’t have an undertone. Majority of you have your views, which you are entitled to, but you make so broad and biased comments borderline on bigotry. I agree with you Ellen. The DA did screw things up and that an assault did occur, maybe not by the LAX players.
Here’s a link to a story on the Raleigh Newspaper. It also has a streaming clip of the forum held at NCCU’s campus. There are some interesting comments. There are also some glaring holes in the DA reasoning of why they are only presuming the LAX players.
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/427860.html
Comment by Gerald — 04.13.06 @ 2:28 pm
A complex situation, once the press and political machines are included. However, at its core the story seems pretty straight forward, particularly since based on DNA evidence none of the players had sex with her. (And anyone who says the players have traded their good reputations to salvage some unidentified visitor…JJ perhaps..is an idiot).
Stripping, like prostitution is all about money. So, follow the money. Where did it end up? At the house. What does that mean? She wasted a lot of time, energy and aggravation and didn’t even get paid.
So, high as a kite she leaves the house, smiling for the camera,as we have been told now by the attorneys. No anger or malice.
A little while later, less drunk, more angry and now crashing she gets pissed about losing her cell phone and cash and decides to get even with those rich punks..Ill say they raped me.
Not something she would do if sober. But she was not sober. How many people following this party said “How could I have been so stupid”. The only good news is no one died. The bad news is a lot of people’s reputations, the accusers included, have been destroyed.
How could the women and players have been so stupid? Easy,they were all drunk, young, and (in their minds) indestructible.
The more important questions is how the the police and prosecutors could have been so stupid…they were at least sober and older and working in their professional capacities and should have known better.
Comment by SYates — 04.13.06 @ 3:25 pm
Question: If your a white male and you attend Duke are you rich? Everyone refers to these kids as rich. I still need some facts. This woman was examined at the hospital correct? Someone reported that her vaginal injuries are consistent with a rape. Was that a fact or sis it come from the grapevine?.
Comment by David B — 04.13.06 @ 3:50 pm
White and rich question: Of course not, but that is and will remain the perception. It boosts the class envy angle.
I presume she was examined at the hospital. Check this doc: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0405061duke4.html
Comment by La Shawn — 04.13.06 @ 3:58 pm
Black society has more to lose than white society with stunts like this one. What white person in their right mind would associate with a black person ever again in such a racially charged society?? We need to lift our black folk in greater numbers into excellence in all areas of society. We can not do it with racial antagonism (save for affirmative action–yuk!) against the very people we need to work with! Don’t tell me that whites have a monopoly on reason, good judgement, restraint, intelligence, good manners and grace!!!!
Comment by Kevin Leo — 04.13.06 @ 7:04 pm
Hey i was wondering is it possible this woman could of forgotten her money, and may of gotten in a scuffle with her pimp after they left the house? To me, if the guys were trying to cover up something, they would of not left the fingernails and purse just laying there in the bathroom for police to find.
No rape took place at that house, I am convinced of that.
Welcome, dearie! - Admin
Comment by tawanabrawley — 04.13.06 @ 7:57 pm
I read somewhere that the claim of rape was not until the woman was in the back seat of a patrol car. The assumption was that she was on the verge of being charged with something (i.e., public intoxication). She also didn’t become hysterical until she was at the hospital. I don’t know if this is true or not.
I have been wondering whether or not the nurse in such situation takes a blood sample or something of the alleged victim.
Comment by Slurpie — 04.13.06 @ 9:52 pm
Not what I read the other day, but confirming This out tonight:
A woman who claims she was raped by members of Duke University’s lacrosse team was described as “just passed-out drunk” by one of the first police officers to see her, according to a recording of radio traffic obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
rest of article at http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-723971.html
Comment by Slurpie — 04.13.06 @ 9:57 pm
For Kevin Leo (#62)
I have no problem associating with black folk and I am in my right mind. I have been officially certified sane twice and since I work in a nuclear power plant, I am under regular observation for aberrant behavior as an indication of any possible mental problem. I have also taken the MMPI twice in addition to the other sanity verifications.
As for the excellence of black folk, there is a long history of that in the US. Many people come to mind when I think about that. The first is my organic chemistry professor at the US Naval Academy, Dr. Massey. He may be the smartest man I have ever met and he was the most excellent instructor I had at the Academy. The second and third most excellent instructors were also black, and they had a lot of competition. One was a naval aviator who taught electrical engineering and the other was a mustang lieutenant who taught military leadership. I also lived with a while with two black nuclear licensing engineers and have a friend who is a nuclear licensing engineer now after being an NRC-licensed Senior Reactor Operator (SRO). There no affirmative action in taking the SRO training or in passing the examination for SRO. Neither is there any affirmative action process involved in hiring licensing engineers. They are the people who the power plant owners and operators rely on to help them understand the complex regulations and follow them correctly.
Comment by Don Kosloff — 04.13.06 @ 11:01 pm
I need some help here. 46 (presumably Rich) Young College White Guys, a beer bash, strippers…..and NO CAMCORDERS PRESENT??? What was the name of that bridge you had for sale, again?
Dan’l
Comment by Dan — 04.13.06 @ 11:55 pm