Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who is currently behind bars for the murder of her boyfriend has explained why she falsely accused three university students of raping her in 2006.
Crystal Mangum, from Durham, North Carolina, publicly admitted to lying for the first time in a new interview on the Let’s Talk with Kat podcast, which she conducted from behind bars.
The admission comes almost 20 years after Magnum first made the accusation, and just over a decade after she was sentenced to up to 18 years in prison for the 2011 murder of Reginald Daye, 46.
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In the interview, Magnum said of the students: “'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."
Magnum's accusation came after she performed as a stripper for an off-campus party held by members of Duke University's lacrosse team.
Following the party, Mangum accused students Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans of raping her in a bathroom.
After he was indicted, Evans said: "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.... The truth will come out."
Mike Nifong, the Durham District Attorney at the time, pursued charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual assault against the three players. However, North Carolina's attorney general scrapped the charges when inconsistencies began to emerge between the evidence and the accounts given by Magnum.
DNA evidence in the case did not match to any of the 46 players on the lacrosse team, and Attorney General Roy Cooper ultimately said there was no credible evidence against the players, declaring them as innocent.
Now, Magnum has explained exactly why she lied about the events that unfolded on that day in 2006.
She told podcast host Katerena that she made up the story because she 'wanted validation from people and not from God'.
Magnum went on to express her hope that Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann could one day forgive her for the false accusations, saying they 'didn't deserve' them.
“I hope that [the players] can heal and trust God and know that God loves them and that God is loving them through me, letting them know that they're valuable and they didn't deserve that,” she said.
After the charges against the three players were dropped, they each received $20 million in a settlement. Mangum was never charged with making false accusations.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Emily Brown