Two Duke lacrosse players arrested on rape charges

DURHAM, N.C. — Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested early Tuesday on charges of raping and kidnapping a stripper hired to dance at an off-campus party, and the district attorney said he hopes to charge a third person soon.

The indictments, unsealed Tuesday, did not indicate what possible evidence or arguments led the grand jury Monday to indict Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, both 20. District attorney Mike Nifong would not discuss the evidence.

“It had been my hope to charge all three of the assailants at the same time, but the evidence available to me at this moment does not permit that,” Nifong said. “Investigation into the identity of the third assailant will continue in the hope that he can also be identified with certainty.”

Seligmann posted a $400,000 US bail shortly after his arrest, and his lawyer waived his court appearance.

Finnerty, who posted the same amount later Tuesday, made a brief appearance in Superior Court wearing a jacket and tie. The next court appearance for both players was set for May 15.

Both Seligmann, a six-foot-one sophomore from Essex Fells, N.J., and Finnerty, a six-foot-three sophomore from Garden City, N.Y., were in handcuffs when they stepped out of a police cruiser before dawn.

Seligmann is “absolutely innocent,” said his lawyer, Kirk Osborn. “He’s doing great.” Asked what led to the indictments, Osborn said: “Apparently it was a photographic identification. And we all know how reliable that is.”

Finnerty’s lawyer, Bill Cotter, said, “We’re surprised that anybody got indicted, quite frankly.”

“The next jury will hear the entire story, which includes our evidence, and we’re confident that these young men will be found to be innocent,” he said.

The exotic dancer, a 27-year-old black woman and mother of two children, told police she was attacked March 13 by three white men in a bathroom at an off-campus party held by the lacrosse team.

Bill Thomas, a defense lawyer representing one of the team captains, said Tuesday that neither Seligmann nor Finnerty had any contact with the woman that night. “We are ... actually shocked,” he said. “We always thought she would pick out someone who at least had a conversation with her or paid her.”

Thomas said “multiple witnesses and a commercial transaction” indicated one of the charged players wasn’t at the party. And defense attorney Robert Ekstrand, who represents other players, said neither Seligmann nor Finnerty was at the party “at the relevant time.”

Calls to the Finnerty and Seligmann homes Tuesday morning were not immediately returned. No one answered the door at the Finnerty house, which sits in a cul-de-sac of million-dollar homes on Long Island. A lacrosse net and equipment could be seen in the yard.

Shortly after the allegations surfaced last month, Seligmann’s father, Philip Seligmann, spoke to The New York Times about the allegations involving the team, saying, “It’s unfortunate, but it will all be resolved positively very shortly.”

The racially charged allegations have led to near daily protest rallies at Duke.

The school cancelled the highly ranked team’s season and accepted the resignation of coach Mike Pressler after the release of a vulgar and graphic e-mail that was sent by a team member shortly after the alleged assault.

“Many lives have been touched by this case,” said Duke President Richard Brodhead in a statement. “It has brought pain and suffering to all involved, and it deeply challenges our ability to balance judgment with compassion. As the legal process unfolds, we must hope that it brings a speedy resolution and that the truth of the events is fully clarified.”

Brodhead’s statement did not say if the two charged players would be suspended.

Defense lawyers urged Nifong to drop the case after they said DNA tests failed to connect any of the 46 team members tested to the alleged victim. They also said time-stamped photos taken the night of the party show that the woman was injured and impaired before she arrived.

But Nifong said he has enough evidence to proceed. According to court records, a medical examination of the woman found injuries consistent with rape.

“I want to believe that they’re going to be found innocent if it goes to trial ... but I hope the truth comes out as it goes on down the line,” said Chuck Sherwood of Freeport, N.Y., whose son Devon is the team’s sole black player. “I think this case has a long way to go.”

School officials said Monday that the lacrosse coach was warned last year that his players had too many violations of the campus judicial code and he needed to “get them in line.”

Duke athletic director Joe Alleva said the university’s executive vice-president reviewed the lacrosse team’s disciplinary record last year after reports of “boorish behaviour” by team members.

“He said there were too many incidents, but there’s not enough incidents to make a drastic change in the program at this point in time,” Alleva told the Herald-Sun of Durham. Alleva said he told the coach “his team was under the microscope, and he had to do everything he could to get them in line.”

Sue Wasiolek, Duke’s dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said the review showed the lacrosse team had a “disproportionate” number of violations of the campus judicial code but none particularly serious.

Neither Seligmann and Finnerty was among the Duke team members arrested in recent years for misdemeanours including underage drinking and public urination.

Finnerty, however, was charged in Washington, D.C., with simple assault after a man told police in November Finnerty and two friends had repeatedly punched him after he told them to stop calling him “gay and other derogatory names.”

Finnerty entered a diversion program, which will lead to the charges being dismissed after he does community service; the next scheduled status hearing is Sept. 25.

The alleged victim also has a criminal history. She pleaded guilty following a June 2002 incident to misdemeanour counts of larceny, speeding to elude arrest, assault on a government official and driving while impaired, and spent some weekends in jail.

(Associated Press)