Tyson's Victim Is Accused Of Making Fake Rape Claim

INDIANAPOLIS - The woman whose rape claim put Mike Tyson in prison had falsely accused one of her high school classmates of rape, Tyson's attorney said in a motion filed yesterday with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Tyson's attorney, Alan Dershowitz, said his client deserved a new trial because of newly discovered evidence that Desiree Washington had falsely accused Wayne Walker of raping her in October 1989.

One of Washington's attorneys said the allegations in the motion were untrue, irrelevant and meant to attract media attention.

Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion, was convicted in March of raping Washington in July 1991.

Tyson is serving a six-year sentence at the Indiana Youth Center west of Indianapolis. He has appealed the conviction.

The motion is part of a second appeal and should not affect a first appeal in which the Indiana Court of Appeals' will decide whether to grant Tyson a new trial.

Dershowitz also filed a motion asking for a new judge, claiming that Marion Superior Court Judge Patricia J. Gifford is biased against Tyson.

One of the documents filed yesterday was an affidavit signed by Walker, now 21, in which he claimed that he and Washington were friends at Coventry High School when they met socially in October 1989.

About a week later, Washington's father, Donald, called Walker's home and said his daughter claimed Walker raped her, the motion said.

He and his mother convinced Donald Washington the allegations were false and police were never called.