Duke University Assault Case

In March 2006, a female exotic dancer accused members of the Duke University lacrosse team of rape and sodomy. Three players, all men, were quickly indicted on charges of rape, sexual offenses, and kidnapping. The case quickly gained national media attention, with particular interest paid to the race of the victim and the accused offenders: the alleged victim is Black and the accused men are White. In addition to the media, minority groups also took a vested interest in the case. This entry provides a brief review of the events that took place on the night the sexual assault allegedly occurred, the subsequent investigation and findings, and the final decision by North Carolina Attorney General to drop all charges against the men accused.

The woman accusing the Duke players of assault was a poor, Black, local single mother working at an escort service while attending the predominantly Black North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. The accused players were White Duke University students from middle- to upper-class families who attended private all-boys high schools in their home states. The NAACP took an instant interest in the case and many other groups came forward criticizing the off-field behavior of athletes at colleges and universities across the nation and called for an investigation into their conduct.

On the night of March 13, 2006, members of the Duke University lacrosse team held a party at an off-campus house in Durham, North Carolina. Two exotic dancers were booked by the party hosts for what they claimed was “a small bachelor party.” When the dancers arrived, however, they found over 40 people in attendance; the vast majority were members of the Duke lacrosse team. Despite the large number of party attendees, they consented to perform. When the performance began, one dancer appeared to be unsteady on her feet and fell to the floor during the performance. [Page 247]This is the same woman who would later allege that she was raped while at the party. During the performance, the women engaged in sexual banter with the party attendees but the performance ended abruptly when one of the attendees held up a broomstick and suggested that it be used as a sexual object for the dancers.

The dancers then retreated to the back of the house where they were followed by some of the party attendees who attempted to convince them to resume their performance. The women refused and shut themselves in the bathroom for a period of time. After emerging from the bathroom, the woman who alleged that she was sexually assaulted was photographed having difficulty walking steadily, talking incoherently to no one in particular, and lying in a prostrate position on the back porch. After observing these behaviors, a party attendee assisted the woman in walking from the back porch to the other dancer's car where he placed her in the front passenger seat. Before driving away, the other dancer yelled a sexually and racially motivated comment at a group of party attendees standing across the street. She then called 911 and reported that a group of White men were yelling racist comments at individuals passing by the party.

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