Accuser in Duke lacrosse case "talking crazy" after party, second dancer says in TV interview

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) _ The woman who said she was raped after performing as a stripper at a Duke lacrosse team party was clearly impaired and ``talking crazy'' afterward, the second dancer at the

Monday, October 30th 2006, 3:23 pm

By: News On 6

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) _ The woman who said she was raped after performing as a stripper at a Duke lacrosse team party was clearly impaired and ``talking crazy'' afterward, the second dancer at the party said in an interview broadcast Monday.

``The trip in that car from the house ... went from happy to crazy,'' Kim Roberts told ABC News, which aired the interview on ``Good Morning America'' Monday and posted details on its Web site. ``I tried all different ways to get through to her.''

Roberts, who has previously called the rape allegations a ``crock,'' left the party with the accuser and drove her to a nearby grocery store. Unable to get the accuser to leave her car, Roberts said she pushed on the woman's arm and leg to try to force her out.

At that point, Roberts said, the accuser said: ``'Go ahead, go ahead. Put marks on me. Go ahead. That's what I want. Go ahead.' And it chilled me to the bone.''

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong declined to comment Monday when asked about Roberts' comments.

While Roberts said she feels that detail should be considered at trial, she is worried it will lead people to make assumptions about what happened at the party.

``It's going to solidify their opinions so much, that they're not going to want to hear the other aspects of the case, which I think are just as important,'' she said, adding, ``It's going to make people not listen to any other part of the story.''

The accuser, a student at North Carolina Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at a March 13 off-campus team party. A grand jury indicted three players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense; all three have strongly declared their innocence.

Roberts' story of what happened at the house has changed over several interviews. In April, Roberts told The Associated Press she was not in the bathroom and therefore couldn't say if a rape occurred, but she said those at the party were guilty of something other than underage drinking. In her single police interview, Roberts said the rape allegations were a ``crock'' and that she was with the accuser the entire time they were at the party, according to documents filed by the defense.

Roberts has since said the two women were separated at various points during the party.

Nifong said during a court hearing last week that he and his staff still hadn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case, leaving that to police, and on Monday he reiterated that his responsibility is to direct the investigation, not conduct it.

``I've been prosecuting cases for 28 years, and nobody has ever asked me questions about my policies in terms of when I have normally interviewed witnesses,'' Nifong said Monday.

Roberts' attorney told ABC she has not spoken with the police since an initial interview in March, and never with Nifong. She's not sure if she will be called as a witness at a trial, which isn't expected to start until spring.

``Because ... so much of (the accuser's) statement differs from mine ... I might not help the prosecution at all as a witness,'' Roberts said.