Posted on 04/18/2006 6:40:40 AM PDT by mathprof
Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested early Tuesday on charges of rape, sexual offense and kidnapping, FOX News has confirmed.
Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, both 20 years old, were being held on $400,000 bond each. Seligmann had posted bond by 7:30 a.m. and Finnerty was in the process of doing so. By posting bond, the players avoid making an initial court appearance later Tuesday.
District Attorney Mike Nifong said authorities are still trying to identify a third assailant.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
An article from ABC News about one of the Dads speaking out. I'm not sure if ABC is sensitive to reprint so my apologies to the system administrator if so.
PresidentFelon
April 18, 2006 — When Brian Loftus heard his twin sons were not the two Duke lacrosse players indicted by a grand jury today, his first reaction was relief, the second despair.
"I got word that my two kids weren't two of the kids being indicted. It was like, you know, one of those bittersweet things, a relief," Loftus told ABC's Chris Cuomo in an exclusive interview. "But right now, I'm sick to my stomach. … I'm not an emotional person, but I was crying earlier today because those two kids' lives are ruined, I mean totally ruined. For the next six [months] to nine months, they're going to be scrutinized as criminals and I know these kids. It's the furthest thing from that."
Duke sophomores Collin Finnerty from New York and Reade Seligmann from New Jersey turned themselves in this morning. They are charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping. Lawyers say they're charged with crimes they didn't commit, and Loftus, who lives in Syosset on New York's Long Island, said his sons had been telling him the same thing ever since a stripper told police she was raped at a party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team more than a month ago.
"Both my sons vehemently, all they ever told me was, 'Dad, nothing happened. Nobody did anything,'" Loftus said. Loftus added that the "Blue Wall of Silence" was a myth, and that all the players were willing to cooperate with authorities.
"These kids were willing to take polygraphs. These kids were willing to take blood tests. They were willing to come down and give statements," Loftus said. "They did everything. They gave their DNA. We thought once we give that, that it was going to be over. … But every night, every day, all we see on the TV is, we're hiding something. Obviously there's nothing to hide."
Loftus was one of the New York firefighters who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. He said he was also bothered by media reports calling the lacrosse team a bunch of rich, white kids whose only possession greater than wealth was cockiness.
"I'm not an emotional person, but every day I cry. I have tears in my eyes. I feel like the world's been pulled underneath my feet," Loftus said. "My kids, when you hear them sobbing on the phone that their lives are destroyed and you hear other people saying the same thing you wonder what went wrong. And we know nothing went wrong. I cannot stress that any more. Nothing happened that night."
Where is that report?
"You can tell how much money someone has by their name?"
A male with a last-name given name is usually either southern, or his mother's family is prominent, and sometimes both. The tendency not to be poor does tend to follow that sort of naming convention.
I grew up in the NE. People with names like this (from the NE) ALWAYS had REAL money. ALWAYS.
Guys with names like Larry Riccarelli, Mario BRuno, Fred Benton... they didn't.
;-)
>>Rumor has it one of the kids can prove he wasn't even at the house when the alleged rape occurred. This could get very ugly for the DA.
We can only hope.
>>This D.A. must be related to Ronnie Earl?
I believe they are first cousins. I base this on evidence as strong as the DA has against these boys.
For those following this story, there appears to be little new in this article.
That's ok, it obviously wasn't funny. I'll probably keep trying though. Maybe I should try a less serious topic. :-)
Source?
We're over here discussing it, if you're interested:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1617010/posts
"This DA is bringing these indictments with very, VERY little to go on."
You're right. The "very, VERY little" he has is that he's running for re-election.
Radio news report a couple of hours ago, CBS news I think.
What kind of name is Nifong??????????
What kind of name is Nifong??????????
Well put.
Also, women who are raped or assaulted normally have a delayed reaction to trauma. So it wouldn't be unusual for her to not blurt out something right away.
I also heard that DNA of two of the players was found on a towel in the bathroom.
All rapists must hang...
And there was also a report of a positive test result for a date rape drug.Where is that report?
I'd be interesting in seeing that report as well. What I've read is nothing more than pure conjecture as follows:
"She may have been slipped a date-rape drug in a mixed drink she was given by one of the lacrosse players shortly after she arrived,” the source told NBC 17 late Friday."Her condition is said to have changed dramatically in a short period of time, from being completely sober on arrival to passing out on the floor in a short period of time."
Which means little to nothing of its own accord.
First of all, if she was slipped, say, GHB or roofies then her subsequent examination should turn that up. Second, who is saying that her condition changed dramatically? That's an important question. Third, there are plenty of drugs she could've taken on her own shortly before arrival, or at the party itself (when the players have claimed that she shut herself alone in the bathroom), that could've changed her condition. Fourth, if she did have a mixed drink, there are any number of things she could've taken, again before her arrival, that may have interacted with it. Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, GHB and roofies tend to knock someone out rather effectively, and for a much longer duration than what I've seen reported in this case.
Two lacrosse players on the team are actually the sons of a New York City firefighter. No money there.
Two lacrosse players on the team are actually the sons of a New York City firefighter. No money there.
Two lacrosse players on the team are actually the sons of a New York City firefighter. No money there.
Two lacrosse players on the team are actually the sons of a New York City firefighter. No money there.
Isn't malicious prosecution a crime? I'm not sure how it would be pursued, but I am prety sure a judge can dismiss a case with prejudice against the prosecution and recommend that the bar association take some action.
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