A third lacrosse player at Duke University was indicted today by a grand jury in Durham, N.C., on charges of raping a North Carolina Central University student at a team party in March.
The player, David F. Evans, a team captain who lived in the house where the alleged assault occurred, was accused of rape, first-degree sexual assault, and kidnapping. Two of his teammates, Reade W. Seligmann and Collin H. Finnerty, were indicted on the same charges last month (The Chronicle, April 19).
Before turning himself in at the Durham County Detention Facility this afternoon, Mr. Evans stood with his lawyer and other members of the lacrosse team in a televised appearance and denied all of the charges, calling them “fantastic lies.”
The indictment followed by a few days a second round of DNA testing that found no conclusive evidence linking any Duke lacrosse player to the alleged incident, according to defense lawyers who have seen the test results.
The North Carolina Central University student, one of two black women hired by Duke lacrosse players to strip at the party, has accused three white lacrosse players of raping, choking, and beating her. The accusations led to the cancellation of the team’s season, the resignation of its coach, and an uproar in the local community and across the country (The Chronicle, April 14). Recent reports have faulted Duke University officials for failing to take action both before and after the alleged incident (The Chronicle, May 2 and May 9).
For more on today’s events, see an article in USA Today.
