Nearly two decades after making national headlines for accusing three Duke lacrosse players of rape, Crystal Mangum has sought forgiveness, admitting for the first time that the allegations were false.

Mangum, currently serving a prison sentence for the 2011 murder of her boyfriend, made the admission during a November interview for the podcast Let’s Talk with Kat, which was released online Thursday.

In a candid discussion, Mangum reflected on a wide range of topics, including her regrets, her time as an exotic dancer, and her hopes for the future.

When asked directly about her accusations against the Duke lacrosse players in 2006, she acknowledged her wrongdoing.

“They took me into their home,” Mangum said, referring to the players. “The Bible says you shouldn’t do harm to your neighbor that lives trustingly beside you. They were my brothers, and they trusted I wouldn’t betray their trust. I testified falsely against them by saying they raped me when they didn’t. And that was wrong.”

Mangum expressed deep remorse for her actions, explaining that her false testimony stemmed from a desire for external validation.

“I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me and made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God,” she said. “That was wrong when God already loved me for who I was. I didn’t need to seek validation from Him because I already had validation from Him. I just didn’t know it.”

She concluded by addressing the three players directly, describing them as her “brothers” and asking for their forgiveness.

“I hurt my brothers. I want them to know I love them and they didn’t deserve it. I hope they can forgive me,” Mangum said.

The 2006 accusations led to a media frenzy and legal battles that deeply affected the lives of the accused players, whose charges were dropped the following year after significant inconsistencies in Mangum’s story were uncovered.

In 2013, Crystal Mangum was convicted of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of her boyfriend and sentenced to 14–18 years in prison.

Vanguard News