Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong turned over a mountain of evidence to the accused lacrosse players' defense team, and they promptly began leaking it to the media. Here's a roundup of the major claims that are being circulated, which should be interpreted cautiously given their source:
(1) The accuser allegedly claimed the other dancer witnessed the alleged attack, which the other dancer denies:
The defense sources also said Tuesday that, according to the records Nifong handed over last week, the woman at one point said that a second dancer also was in the bathroom where the incident allegedly occurred. But the sources said that when asked about this, the second dancer replied, "That's a crock."
(2) The accuser allegedly stated that no condoms were used, which makes the lack of DNA evidence more damning:
In other new information, the accuser told police her alleged attackers did not use condoms, the defense sources said.
Again, Nifong had no comment.
The question of whether the alleged rapists used condoms is an issue because the use of condoms could account for the lack of any DNA evidence linking the suspects to the accuser.
(3) The medical exam allegedly found no tearing or bleeding:
[T]hree defense sources, who asked not to be identified, said a forensic examination of the alleged victim found no tearing, bleeding or other injury associated with a sexual assault. Instead, the exam detected only swelling in the accuser's vagina and tenderness in her breasts and lower right body, the sources said.
However, a police search-warrant affidavit said the hospital exam had determined the woman suffered "injuries consistent with being raped and sexually assaulted vaginally and anally."
(4) The accuser may not have been tested for drugs or alcohol:
Medical records of the alleged victim in the Duke lacrosse rape case suggest she might not have been tested for drugs or alcohol, according to a defense filing Monday.
Several people described the accuser as being severely impaired the night of the alleged attack, with one of the first police officers to see her describing her a "passed out drunk." But some have suggested that she may have been given a so-called "date rape drug," and Newsweek magazine said District Attorney Mike Nifong had hinted at such a possibility.
Authorities have said a doctor and a specially trained nurse performed a physical exam on the accuser that found her condition to be consistent with having been sexually assaulted. But the nurse who filled out a report on that exam indicated no toxicology tests were performed, according to a defense motion filed Monday.
Several attorneys not connected with the case said Monday they were surprised by the apparent lack of a toxicology report.
If such data showed the exotic dancer was intoxicated on the night in question, it could be highly beneficial to the defense, lawyer Mark Edwards said.
"Either way -- whether it was a date-rape drug or voluntary intoxication -- it would affect the reliability of her identification," Edwards added. "It goes to the question of her credibility."
On the other hand, evidence of a date-rape drug in the dancer's body could have helped the prosecution by showing evil intentions on the part of someone, Edwards said.
"It would help to explain the apparent intoxication when police encountered this woman later," he said. "It also would show that there was likely a sexual assault or at least a plan to commit a sexual assault."
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