A lab director says he and the district attorney chose to withhold DNA tests that help lacrosse players accused of rape.

The latest setback to the prosecution in the Duke University lacrosse rape case happened when the director of a private lab hired by the district attorney testified Friday that he withheld exculpatory DNA evidence after conferring with prosecutors.

Under questioning from defense lawyers, the lab director confirmed that DNA samples taken from the body and clothing of a stripper who accused three lacrosse players of rape did not match any of the defendants. The tests found DNA from several unknown males but none matched DNA taken from 43 other lacrosse team members.

Additionally it is possible that the DNA samples in the case had been contaminated during laboratory testing. The revelations came hours after news outlets here reported that the accuser was pregnant. A judge granted a motion for a paternity test that defense lawyers said would exclude their clients — though neither the judge nor the lawyers could confirm that the woman was pregnant.

Durham Dist. Atty. Mike Nifong agreed to the test, saying that the woman conceived at least two weeks after the March 14 party at which she was allegedly attacked and conceded that the father was not one of the defendants.

At a hospital the night the woman said she was attacked, she was given a pregnancy test — which was negative — as well as an emergency contraceptive, according to court records.

The justification given to the withholding the DNA tests was to protect the privacy of the Duke lacrosse players who had submitted samples.

One wonders how lab results clearing all 46 players would violate their privacy.

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