No Reason to Doubt Teen, Sharpton Says

The Rev. Al Sharpton, defending himself in Poughkeepsie in a defamation case brought by a white prosecutor he accused of raping a black teenager, testified he had no reason to disbelieve her story. The black activist and two attorneys for Tawana Brawley, who was 15 at the time of the alleged attack, are being sued for defamation by a former county prosecutor, one of six white men she accused of raping her in upstate New York in 1987. A grand jury concluded the case was a hoax and exonerated all six men. Former Dutchess County prosecutor Steven Pagones is now seeking $395 million in damages. Sharpton has gone on to run for political office.