Former stripper and convicted murderer Crystal Mangum admitted Thursday that she lied and “made up a story” that three Duke University lacrosse players raped her at a team party in 2006.

“They trusted me not to betray their trust and I testified falsely against them by saying they raped me when they didn’t and that was false,” Magnum told independent media outlet Let’s Talk With Kat.” the North Carolina Correctional Facility for Women.

“(I) made up a story that wasn’t true.”

Mangum, 46, said she made up the accusation because she “wanted validation from people, not God.”

The exotic dancer, who is in prison for the second-degree murder of her boyfriend in 2013, asked for forgiveness from former players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.

“I hope they can forgive me,” she said, referring to the men as her “brothers” in the biblical sense. “I want them to know that I love them and they don’t deserve this and I hope they can forgive me.”

Mangum had never publicly stated before Thursday’s revelation that she had made up the rape allegation.

Because the statute of limitations for perjury charges under North Carolina law is two years, she can no longer be prosecuted on perjury charges.

Mangum’s shocking admission comes nearly two decades after she accused the lacrosse players of raping her during a performance at a team party in March 2006.

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann were arrested on the charges.

The case attracted national attention and the tension heightened when former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said in a March 2006 interview with CBS News that “there is no doubt that a sexual assault occurred” and that the attack was “racially motivated”.

“The circumstances of the rape suggested a deep racist motivation for some of the acts. “It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive all the more so,” said Nifong, who served as lead prosecutor in the case.

Nifong initially said DNA would prove the players’ innocence, but revised his statement when tests came back negative.

Former Duke University President Richard Brodhead also took action against the team following the allegations.

Brodhead accepted the resignation of then-men’s lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, canceled the rest of the season and suspended the three players from school after they were charged with rape – despite asking the public not to prejudge the criminal proceedings NPR reported in 2007.

The three players were all ultimately found innocent and the charges were dismissed in April 2007

Former North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper did not prosecute Mangum for perjury after the case was dismissed because of concerns about her mental health.

The North Carolina State Bar disbarred Nifong in June 2007 because he lied in court and withheld DNA evidence that would have helped free the defendants.

Brodhead’s response to the matter came under scrutiny after the rape allegations were dropped and he issued a statement shortly afterwards.

“The fact is that we didn’t do it right, which left families feeling abandoned when they needed support most,” he wrote in a 2007 statement. “That was a mistake. I take responsibility for this and apologize.”

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann sued Brodhead and the university after their case was dismissed and settled for an undisclosed amount.

They alleged Brodhead repeatedly made false statements and conspired to deprive them of their right to a fair trial.

Evans graduated in 2006, while Seligmann transferred to Brown University and Finnerty to Loyola University Maryland.

Mangum was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of theft in March 2011 and is currently serving a sentence of 14 to 18 years in prison.

She was also convicted of misdemeanor charges after starting a fire within a year that nearly burned down her home with her three children before her boyfriend was killed.

Vincent Clark, a friend who co-authored Mangum’s self-published memoir, told ESPN in 2011 that he hoped people didn’t rush to judgment like the public did in the Duke Lacrosse case, pointing out that they were aware of her mental health be aware of problems.

“I feel sad for her. I hope people realize how difficult it is to be her,” Clark said.

With post wires