“They trusted me that I wouldn’t betray their trust, and I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t, and that was wrong,” Magnum told the independent media outlet “Let’s Talk With Kat” at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.
“[I] made up a story that wasn’t true.”
Mangum’s shocking admission comes nearly two decades after she accused the lacrosse players of raping her while she was performing at a team party in March 2006.
The case garnered national attention and the tension was fueled when former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong said in a March 2006 interview with CBS News that “there’s no doubt a sexual assault took place” and that the assault was “racially motivated.”
The three players were ultimately all found innocent of the crimes and the charges were dismissed in April 2007.
The North Carolina State Bar disbarred Nifong in June 2007 for lying in court and withholding DNA evidence that would have helped absolve the defendants.