Duke University students Collin Finnerty of Garden City and Reade Seligmann of Essex Fells, NJ, sophomores and lacrosse teammates at the university located in Durham, North Carolina, have been indicted in the alleged rape and kidnapping of a stripper hired to dance at a March 13 off-campus party thrown by the university's lacrosse team.

The alleged victim, a 27-year-old mother of two and student at a college near Duke, told police three men attacked her in a bathroom at the party. Finnerty and Seligmann have consistently maintained their innocence and, according to published reports, Finnerty will not accept a plea bargain in the case.

According to Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong, on April 17, "based on evidence developed thus far in the investigation of the alleged sexual assault..." he submitted bills of indictment to the grand jury charging the two Duke University lacrosse team members with the felonies of first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping.

Finnerty and Seligmann were arrested April 18. Each defendant was placed under a secured bond of $400,000, which they both posted.

District Attorney Nifong, appointed to the position last year and seeking re-election in a May 2 primary, added in a written statement that it had been his hope to charge a third alleged assailant at the same time. "But the evidence available to me at this moment does not permit that," he said. "Investigation into the identity of the third assailant will continue in the hope that he can also be identified with certainty. It is important that we not only bring the assailants to justice, but also that we lift the cloud of suspicion from those team members who were not involved in the assault."

As of press time on Monday, April 24, the district attorney's office had not issued any further statement.