2nd Dancer at Duke Party Doubted Accuser’s Story

A second exotic dancer in the Duke University rape case told police early in their investigation that the accuser was out of her sight for only five minutes that night and that her allegations were a “crock,” according to court papers filed Thursday.

The statement by Kim Roberts is cited in a filing by lawyers for Reade Seligmann, 20, one of three lacrosse team members charged in the case.

According to a March 20 statement written by a Durham police investigator, Roberts “stated that she heard that [the accuser] was sexually assaulted, which she stated is a ‘crock’ and she stated that she was with her the whole time until she left.”

The defense lawyers argue that prosecutors omitted that statement when they got court permission in March to obtain photographs and DNA samples from team members.

Durham County Dist. Atty. Mike Nifong’s office declined to comment Thursday on the defense allegations.

Both women had been hired to perform at the party as strippers. In an April interview, Roberts said she initially doubted the accuser’s story but had changed her mind.

“I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can’t say a rape occurred -- and I never will,” Roberts said. But she added, “In all honesty, I think they’re guilty.”

The accuser has told police she was dragged into a bathroom and raped, beaten and choked for half an hour.

Seligmann, of Essex Falls, N.J., and two other players -- Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y. -- have been charged with first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping in the case.

The papers filed Thursday also raise questions about the accuser’s sexual activities in the days leading up to the party.