Father gains custody of Duke lacrosse accuser's children
A Durham County judge has awarded custody of two children of the woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006 to their father.
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The order, which District Judge Doretta Walker filed Tuesday, gives Richard Ramseier temporary custody of his 12-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter.
Crystal Mangum, 32, is being held in the Durham County jail under a $500,000 bond on a murder charge.
Police say that Mangum stabbed Reginald Daye, 46, during an April 3 argument at his apartment on Century Oaks Drive. Daye died 10 days later.
In March 2006, Mangum claimed three white players on the Duke lacrosse team trapped her inside a bathroom at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where she was performing as a stripper at a team party, and raped and sexually assaulted her.
Her story about the incident was so inconsistent that state officials later declared the players innocent, saying there was no credible evidence against them.
The two children have been staying with a Durham woman since Mangum's arrest.
Ramseier lives in West Virginia with a couple he met while in the Navy. They have agreed to help him with the children.
According to Walker's order, Ramseier must either live with the couple or provide a home where the children have their own rooms. He also must keep a steady job.
He told the judge that he will start work next week as a National Parks Service ranger on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
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