Hofstra student who falsely accused five men of gang rape will not face criminal charges
Ann Givens, Newsweek
Issue date: 9/30/09 Section: News
NEW YORK - The Hofstra University student who prosecutors say falsely accused five men of gang-raping her in a dormitory bathroom will not face criminal charges as long as she gets psychological help and does 250 hours of community service, under an agreement she signed Friday with the Nassau County, N.Y., district attorney's office in which she admitted lying about the incident.
Prosecutors say they considered, but rejected, bringing a criminal charge against Danmell Ndonye, 18, of Washington Heights, N.Y., who was publicly identified by the district attorney's office for the first time.
Earlier, District Attorney Kathleen Rice had declined to name the woman, citing the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 13 incident and Ndonye's subsequent recanting of her story.
The agreement, signed Friday by Ndonye, her lawyer and Stephen Antignani of the district attorney's office, sets specific terms of Ndonye's punishment. If she breaches the agreement, prosecutors could use her sworn admission that she lied as evidence in a criminal case against her.
"There exists no perfect solution to this case, only our best attempt at holding her accountable while encouraging real victims to come forward and accusers to tell the truth, so that we can avoid incarcerating an innocent person for even one minute," Rice said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Bruce Barket, a Garden City attorney hired this week to represent Ndonye, said his client's primary goal was to avoid a criminal prosecution, what he called "an extremely difficult," expensive and unnecessary process that would have served nothing more than to create a "circus" at every court appearance.
"They took a very, very difficult situation, and we were able to fashion a reasonable and quick resolution that I think satisfies everybody's concern," Barket said Friday afternoon. "It was a very difficult time for everybody involved, and there was virtually no chance that the young woman was going to serve any jail time."
Prosecutors say they considered, but rejected, bringing a criminal charge against Danmell Ndonye, 18, of Washington Heights, N.Y., who was publicly identified by the district attorney's office for the first time.
Earlier, District Attorney Kathleen Rice had declined to name the woman, citing the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 13 incident and Ndonye's subsequent recanting of her story.
The agreement, signed Friday by Ndonye, her lawyer and Stephen Antignani of the district attorney's office, sets specific terms of Ndonye's punishment. If she breaches the agreement, prosecutors could use her sworn admission that she lied as evidence in a criminal case against her.
"There exists no perfect solution to this case, only our best attempt at holding her accountable while encouraging real victims to come forward and accusers to tell the truth, so that we can avoid incarcerating an innocent person for even one minute," Rice said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Bruce Barket, a Garden City attorney hired this week to represent Ndonye, said his client's primary goal was to avoid a criminal prosecution, what he called "an extremely difficult," expensive and unnecessary process that would have served nothing more than to create a "circus" at every court appearance.
"They took a very, very difficult situation, and we were able to fashion a reasonable and quick resolution that I think satisfies everybody's concern," Barket said Friday afternoon. "It was a very difficult time for everybody involved, and there was virtually no chance that the young woman was going to serve any jail time."
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