Charlie Rogers -- a former basketball player for the University of Nebraska who identifies herself as lesbian -- told police that three masked men entered her home on July 22, stripped her, tied her down, and carved homophobic slurs into her body before attempting to set her and the house on fire. "This has been a very traumatic event for her, and having the focus of the investigation turn toward her has been really hard," said McArthur, who described Rogers as reserved and soft-spoken, and not the type to seek attention. Charlie Rogers, 33, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to making a false police report and was released on her own recognizance. Peschong said the department spent thousands of dollars investigating the case, but he stressed that the case will not undermine the department's trust in people who report hate crimes. According to police, Rogers said three masked men broke into her home, and that one of them pinned her down while another sliced a cross into her chest, cut the front of her thighs and shins and carved derogatory words in her arms and abdomen. She said they then rolled her onto her stomach and cut her buttocks, the back of her thighs and the back of her right calf. 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." Rogers said the gloves didn't belong to her, but investigators determined that a lot of the DNA found inside the glove was Rogers' and that none of it came from a male. Furthermore, the deposition said, the FBI sent photos of Rogers' cuts to a forensic pathologist, who believed the wounds to be self-inflicted.
– A former University of Nebraska women's basketball star who claimed to be the victim of an anti-gay attack appears to have staged the attack herself out of a desire to spark social change, police say. Charlie Rogers, who told police last month that three men had entered her house, stripped her, and carved anti-gay slurs on her body, has been charged with lying to police, CNN reports. Police say their investigation uncovered numerous inconsistencies in her story, and that physical evidence, including DNA, did not support Rogers' version of events. An FBI forensic pathologist determined that Rogers' wounds were self-inflicted. Four days before the alleged attack, she made a post on Facebook that investigators believe underscores her motive, AP reports. "I believe way deep inside me that we can make things better for everyone," she wrote. "I will be a catalyst. I will do what it takes. I will. Watch me." Rogers, who ranks second all-time in blocked shots for the Cornhuskers, has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer says she has been devastated by investigators' decision to focus on her.