Duke Lacrosse Player Calls Rape Charges 'Lies'
May 15, 2006 — -- David Evans, a captain of last season's Duke University lacrosse team who was indicted today in the ongoing investigation of rape allegations involving an exotic dancer at an off-campus party, denounced the charges against him as "fantastic lies."
Evans made the statement at a news conference less than two hours after the announcement that he had been indicted on charges of first degree forcible rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. Evans was joined at the news conference by some teammates and family members, as well as his lawyer, Joe Cheshire.
"I am absolutely innocent of all charges brought against me," Evans said. "You have all been told some fantastic lies. I look forward to seeing them unravel."
The indictment was issued by a grand jury that met today in the Durham County Judicial Building in North Carolina. Evans is the third Duke lacrosse player indicted in the case, following the indictment last month of Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. Evans also said both of them were innocent.
Cheshire said there was evidence to show where Evans was at every moment of the evening the rape allegedly occurred. "It not only did not happen," he said. "It could not have happened."
The accuser told police that she was "90 percent" certain when she identified Evans in a lineup, and she told police she would have been 100 percent certain if he'd had the mustache then that he had at the time of the alleged assault, Cheshire said. Evans has never worn a mustache, Cheshire said.
Evans was a senior and team captain until his graduation from Duke on Sunday morning. He was a resident and lessee of 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the house where the alleged sexual assault occurred.
The indictment came following a hallway confrontation today at the Durham County courthouse, in which District Attorney Mike Nifong laced into defense lawyer Kerry Sutton in an expletive-laden tirade in which he complained angrily about last Friday's defense team news conference.
At that briefing, Cheshire and five other defense attorneys -- including Sutton -- criticized Nifong for releasing the second DNA report on a Friday afternoon and accused him of leaking selective portions of the report to the media.
ABC News' Law & Justice Unit was given exclusive details about the latest DNA report in the Duke lacrosse rape investigation and was shown and reviewed parts of the 10-page document.
According to the DNA report, tests specifically designed to look for semen found none on swabs of the alleged victim's mouth or genital areas. This is noteworthy, defense lawyers said, because in at least one affidavit and in the transcript of the photo identification lineup, the alleged victim said she was raped orally, vaginally and anally by three members of the Duke men's lacrosse team.
However, numerous prosecutors have told ABC News that a rape could have occurred and that convictions were possible even if there was no semen found on the accuser. The alleged victim does not say in any affidavit whether any of her attackers ejaculated during the alleged assault.
The report also says that tests looking specifically for blood on the fake fingernail found in a bathroom trash can were negative. This could be significant because the accuser has said that she broke her fingernails while defending herself against the alleged attackers, and scratching them. It is unclear, however, whether her scratches drew blood.
