3rd lacrosse player indicted in Duke rape case

DURHAM, N.C. — In the span of a day, Duke University lacrosse captain David Evans received both a bachelor's degree and an indictment naming him as the third player charged with raping a stripper at a team party.

Monday, minutes before turning himself in to authorities, the clean-cut athlete stood up and loudly proclaimed that he and the rest of his teammates were innocent of allegations he labeled "fantastic lies."

"I look forward to watching them unravel in the weeks to come," said the 23-year-old economics major from Bethesda, Md.

"I am innocent. Reade Seligmann is innocent. Collin Finnerty is innocent," Evans said, defending the two other players charged. "Every member of the Duke lacrosse team is innocent. ... You have all been told some fantastic lies.

"I'll gladly stand up to anything that comes against me. I've never had my character questioned before. Anyone who's met me knows this didn't happen."

Evans, who lived at the house where the party was held, was indicted on charges of first-degree forcible rape, sexual offense and kidnapping. Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., were indicted last month on the same charges.

Along with several lacrosse players, Evans was backed at his news conference by his family, including mother Rae Evans, a Washington lobbyist who is also the chairwoman of the Ladies Professional Golf Association board of directors.

Evans said that he and his roommates helped police find evidence at the house, and that he gave investigators access to his e-mail and instant messenger accounts. He said that his offer to take a lie-detector test was rejected by authorities and that he later took one on his own and passed.

"I have told the truth from the beginning," he said.

Evans' indictment appeared to cap the investigation into allegations three white men raped a 27-year-old black student at nearby North Carolina Central University. She and another woman were hired to strip at a March 13 team party. Hours after Evans spoke outside the Durham County jail, District Attorney Mike Nifong said he did not expect any more indictments.

Defense attorneys insist no sexual assault occurred at the party. They pointed to DNA tests, which they have said found no conclusive match between any of the team's white players and the accuser.

"We will prove that not only did this rape not happen, but it could not have happened," said Evans' attorney, Joseph Cheshire.

"This is one of the saddest days for justice in the state of North Carolina," he said. "This case has been taken out to the news media before an investigation was finished by a person who was seeking public office."