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Former Nebraska Women’s Basketball Player May Have Fabricated Hate Crime Story

Charlie Rogers, a 33-year-old former Nebraska women’s basketball player who is openly gay, reported to police back in July that three men broke into her home and carved homophobic slurs into her body with knives. She then said the men tried to burn down her home (with her in it) and maintained that she was attacked because she is a lesbian.

Now, it looks like Rogers may have made the whole thing up. On Tuesday, Rogers was arrested after police concluded “the physical evidence conflicted” with her version of events, according to CNN.

Rogers has maintained that she was the victim of a hate crime and has plead not guilty to charges that she lied to police. But the evidence implies otherwise.

According to the Lincoln Police Department complaint, Rogers, 33, provided information “she knew to be false” with the intent to “instigate an investigation of an alleged criminal matter.”

Rogers reported to police that she was lying on her bed when the alleged attackers held her down and carved “derogatory words” into her arms and abdomen and “a cross” in her chest. She told police she was then rolled onto her stomach where more cuts were made.

But according to a deposition from Lincoln police investigator Lynette Russell filed as part of the complaint, Rogers bedspread was “evenly placed on the bed and no apparent sign of a struggle.” A DNA lab test found no evidence of blood on the bedspread.

Russell also described a pair of white gloves found at the scene that Rogers had said were not hers.

“Ms. Rogers DNA profile was the major contributor to the DNA located on the inside of the gloves,” Russell said.

Furthermore, the deposition said, the FBI sent photos of Rogers’ cuts to a forensic pathologist, who believed the wounds to be self-inflicted.

Yeesh. This took a weird and depressing turn. CNN’s full report, here:

h/t With Leather

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