Defense: Accuser denied Duke player took part

DURHAM, N.C. - The accuser in the Duke lacrosse sexual-assault case told prosecutors in December that one of the three players charged did not commit any sex act on her, according to defense papers filed yesterday.

Reade Seligmann was repeatedly urged to take part in the alleged attack, the accuser told an investigator, but he said he could not because he was getting married, the papers said.

"The accuser's most recent recollection of events demonstrates clearly that she cannot accurately recall and describe her attackers and that any identification made by her is necessarily unreliable," the defense said.

Lawyers have said Seligmann, 20, has a girlfriend, but gave no indication that he was engaged or married.

The description of Seligmann's actions was one of several changes the accuser made during a Dec. 21 interview with an investigator.

In that interview, the accuser said she was no longer sure she had been penetrated vaginally by a penis, a requirement for rape charges in North Carolina.

That led District Attorney Mike Nifong to dismiss rape charges against Seligmann and defendants Dave Evans and Collin Finnerty. The players, who have said they are innocent, remain charged with sexual offense and kidnapping.

In her latest statement, the accuser said Seligmann helped Evans and Finnerty drag her into a bathroom where she said an assault took place.

During the Dec. 21 interview, the accuser also said the attack occurred earlier in the evening - between 11:35 p.m. and midnight - than she had first reported. The initial police report suggested the alleged attack took place about midnight.

The new timeline would put the attack outside of the apparent alibi window established by Seligmann's attorneys, based on records that include ATM receipts and cell-phone records.

But the defense motion said the accuser's cell-phone records showed that she was on her phone during part of the time she now says she was attacked. Records also show Seligmann received a call on his cell phone during that time, the defense said.