Duke lacrosse accuser to promote book

Crystal Gail Mangum is scheduled to hold a news conference at The Know Bookstore & Restaurant, 2520 Fayetteville St. in Durham, to promote, “The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.”

It was at that 610 North Buchanan Blvd. house party, Mangum alleged, that three white members of the team raped and sexually assaulted her. David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were later indicted on the allegations.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed the remaining charges of sexual assault and kidnapping in April 2007 and declared the former players innocent.

A divorced mother of three, Mangum hasn't spoken publicly about the case, other than granting a interview in the early days of the investigation.

Mangum's book is not a rehash of the case, but an attempt to seek closure, her publisher says.

Clark says the memoir came about from a journal Mangum kept during the investigation.

“I ask her to explore that a little bit more. She would bring me more stuff and eventually it became “The Last Dance for Grace,” Clark said.

The memoir is about “her past, her present and what she thinks her future is going to be,” Clark said.

Mangum does write about her feelings concerning the attorney general's ruling in the case, Clark says. He also says Mangum, who graduated last spring from NCCU, is preparing for graduate school.

You can watch Mangum's news conference live Thursday at 10 a.m. on WRAL.com.