Hofstra Suspends Student Who Falsely Accused Men Of Rape

Photograph of Kevin Tavares, second from left, Stalin Felipe, center, and Rondell Bedward, right, talking to a reporter, by Frank Eltman/AP

Hofstra University has suspended the 18-year-old freshman student who falsely accused five men—four of whom were arrested and jailed—of gang raping her in a Hofstra dorm after an on-campus party Sunday morning. Now the student, identified by the Post and WCBS 2 as Danmell Ndonye, may face criminal charges as Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice said, "I have launched an immediate criminal investigation into the statements and reports given by the woman in connection with this incident."

In a press conference today, Rice (who did not identify the woman) said the student recanted after a long interview with prosecutors and a detective. Newsday also reports that the student made the false claim after returning to her dorm room and speaking with her boyfriend on Sunday. Rice said, "The story of the accuser slowly but steadily began to unravel. The turning point was when she was confronted with the fact that there may be a video" of the bathroom encounter (more on that below). Rice added, "Her actions and demeanor suggest a very troubled young woman in need of some help."

Last night, the four men, Bronx residents Rondell Bedward, 21, Stalin Felipe, 19, and Jesus L. Ortiz, 19, and Brentwood resident Kevin R. Taveras, were released. Bedward, who attends Hofstra, also had his suspension lifted. While they were relieved, they (understandably) upset by the fake allegations. Taveras told the Daily News, "In life and in jail, rapers and molesters are seen as the scum of the earth, the lowest of the low. We were scared." He also said to Newsday, "I think they should have gathered more evidence.. looked at camera footage and tried to match up times and things like that before throwing us in and letting the wolves get us... You have to change your mentality because you're inside, knowing you're innocent and everyone is saying you're guilty. It was said so many times that 'You're guilty,' I myself thought I was guilty... It was like a nightmare.

Video was apparently taken by the fifth man of the encounter in the dorm bathroom. Taveras' lawyer said, "It showed just the opposite of what the allegations were. There was no tying up, there was no bruising, there was no screaming," adding it was more like a "porn movie."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on September 17, 2009 3:30 PM

Comments [rss]

jenchungistheworldsworstreport

mug shot photos of the hoffstra 'rapists' are still on this site

why?

because jen chung is the world's worst reporter, of course. And she rapes little boys supposedly.

jpeditor

Everyone here justifying gang-rape as "free-expression" should be repeatedly gang raped.

But only after their mother / sister /daughter.

Guest

I feel bad for the chick's boyfriend.

JC

Ok, so am I a bastard for wanting to see this video? I’ll bet it was taken with a cellphone…

I haven’t put it all together yet, but I feel that this video should somehow be part of this girl’s punishment

MarygraceNYC

These guys are not soooo innocent either.... not such "Good Boys" like one of the mom's stated. Gangbanging a girl in a filthy men's room... yes , very respectful! NOT!!!

farleft

They're adults (all over the age of 18). They're exploring their sexuality. Who are you to say that other people's sexual exploits are 'disrespectful'. What if I told you your sexual actions were disrespectful. Am I right simply because my definition of sexual deviance encompasses an act that you do? What makes you think it's OK to judge other people in this way?

Sorry, but your opinion is not worth anything. Rape is one thing. Consensual sex, in any other form, is another.

inoyourider

Sounds like someone felt guilty for acting like a whore...

No matter how bad the regret only a truly fucked up person would let it make them wrongfully accuse someone, especially of rape.

Fuck this bitch. Everyone else has.

BongoBoy

And of course this blog has advertising right next to it, a crotch shot from the infamous American Apparel. Way to go, sleazebags!

NannyState

Long Island, AP: Five drunk Hofstra University males veered off into a ditch for cum. The first student escaped. After a few scary moments, they four others were finally pulled to safety with the aid of a cameraman, according to police. Charges against the ditch are pending.

Think2wice

Innocent before proven guilty. No matter what.

Mr Mel

The visiting guys were caught up in this, the Hofstra student invited them to the nightclub perhaps because he knew of a sure thing and they willingly took part. They paid the price. The girl may be a foreign student here on a student visa. If they decide that she was guilty, she'll be thrown out of the country. She is not the only guilty one.

Quidnam

You seem to be adopting the stance that she was somehow exploited in this scenario -- that these guys had "fun" at her expense, and that they therefore are somehow "guilty" and deserve to be accused of rape and vilified.

Is it really so hard to fathom that the girl also had fun?

It's this kind of reflexive distrust of female sexuality that creates the social conditions that would motivate someone to actually lie about something like this in the first place (assuming she's not simply bat-shit insane).

She would rather be known as a rape victim (and accuse 5 men falsely) than to be known as someone who enjoys this sort of sex.

Thanks for doing your part.

Mr Mel

I think you live in a dream world.

OTC

She has a MySpace page...last updated on 7/31/09 with the mood of "virginal" or there's another Danmell Ndonye out there.

jaycjay

Actually, it's not even clear that it was a "gang bang." At least of the lawyers says his client didn't have sex with her, none of the others have said whether they have or not and no one has said exactly what happened or what the video shows.

It may have been one of them, or maybe two. Or maybe all five and somebody's still lying about that. But the point is, we don't know.

Monster_mash

So it's OK to gang-bang drunk girls? Or emotionally disturbed girls? It may have not been rape, but it was not model behavior from these..err... pillars of society. It should not have taken Freud to tell them that their porn movie wet dream come to life, might have been too good to be true, or might have been someone else's nightmare. They should have known something was wrong with the situation.

NewHCE

Crazy chicks are hot.

Oh, and spare the the "emotionally disturbed" crap. Suppose I defended a rapist by saying he was "emotionally disturbed." This chick did something consensually that she wasn't proud of afterwords so decided to destroy the lives of four young men to cover her tracks.