David Evans, the third suspect indicted on charges he raped and kidnapped a woman hired to dance at a party for Duke lacrosse players, maintained his innocence at press conference convened this afternoon, the Associated Press reports in an update.
"I am absolutely innocent of all the charges brought against me," Evans said to the gathering outside the Durham County magistrate's office, where he had arrived to turn himself in, although his lawyer said he was expected to be released. "These allegations are lies. Fabricated. And they will be proven wrong."
Evans told reporters that though authorities had rejected his offer to take a polygraph, he had taken and passed a test arranged by his attorneys. He also said that his other two teammates charged last month were innocent. One of Evans' lawyers, Joseph Cheshire, also criticized the photo identification lineup the accuser used to pick his client, claiming that the alleged victim named Evans with 90 percent certainty. The woman reportedly told police she would be 100 percent sure of the identification if Evans had a mustache, but Evans has never had one, Cheshire told the AP.
An assistant in the district attorney's office had no immediate comment on the charges.
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