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Crystal Gail Mangum

January 30, 2012 by · Comments Off on Crystal Gail Mangum 

Crystal Gail Mangum, Crystal Gail Mangum (born July 18, 1978) is an American woman who is best known for making false allegations of rape in the Duke lacrosse case. As of April 2011, she is being held on murder charges related to a fatal attack on her boyfriend.
Mangum was born and grew up in Durham, to a father who drove trucks. In 1993, at age 14, she claimed to have been kidnapped by three assailants, driven to Creedmore, North Carolina, and raped. One of those she accused was her boyfriend, who was 21 at the time. She filed a police report making these allegations in late 1996. She subsequently backed away from the charges, a move relatives claimed was motivated by fear for her life. Mangum’s father says he does not believe any such incident occurred involving force, though her mother believes a similar incident could have occurred- but three years later rather than in 1993.

After graduation from high school in 1996, she joined the U.S. Navy. She served for less than two years before being discharged from the service after becoming pregnant.

By 2002 Mangum had returned to Durham and was working as a stripper. In 2003, she was arrested on ten charges after stealing the taxicab of a customer she had given a lap dance. This prompted a police pursuit at moderate speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, though occasionally in the wrong lane. After being stopped, she attempted to run over a police officer, succeeding only in hitting his patrol vehicle. She was found to have a BAC of just over twice the legal limit. Ultimately, she pled guilty on four counts, serving three weekends in jail, paying $4,200 in restitution and fees, and being given two years probation.

In 2004 she gained an associate’s degree from Durham Technical Community College, and subsequently enrolled full-time at North Carolina Central University in police psychology.

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