updated 4:42 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C. - The three members of Duke University’s lacrosse team charged with rape say they had expected DNA testing would clear them of a crime they insist they did not commit.

They said Sunday they were frustrated when authorities continued to pursue the case after those tests failed to find a match with the accuser.

“We were told it would help to clear everything up,” said Collin Finnerty, 20, who was interviewed on CBS’ “60 Minutes” along with Reade Seligmann, 20, and David Evans, 23. “So we were happy to go.”

The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at a March 13 off-campus team party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper. Evans told “60 Minutes” he cooperated with police as soon as they arrived to start investigating the allegations.

“It was scary,” Evans said. “I woke up from a nap to 10 police officers in my living room with a search warrant. I went through every part of it — told ’em where they could find things and that we’d fully cooperate and answer any questions they had.”

The network previously released selected excerpts of the interviews, the first for Seligmann and Finnerty since they were indicted in April on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. In May, the grand jury indicted Evans on the same charges, and he proclaimed his innocence outside the Durham County jail after posting bond.

Defense attorneys, who have insisted their clients are innocent, declined requests in recent weeks from The Associated Press for interviews with the indicted players.

District Attorney Mike Nifong was not interviewed by “60 Minutes,” and he has generally refused to comment about the case. Nifong’s office said last week he was out of town and would not return until Monday. A trial isn’t expected to begin until next spring.

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Nifong initially complained publicly about a lack of cooperation from the team, and said the DNA test would reveal who committed rape and who was innocent. When the tests failed to find a definitive match, he said there is no DNA evidence in most sexual assault cases and vowed to press ahead with the case. Indictments against the three players soon followed.

“It’s so frustrating because that was an opportunity for us to exonerate ourselves,” Seligmann told “60 Minutes.” “And we were told that. If we cooperated, those that were innocent would be shown to be innocent. ... It didn’t play out that way.”

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Kim Roberts, who was also hired to perform at the party, was also interviewed by “60 Minutes.” She said she was separated from the accuser twice during the evening, both times for five to 10 minutes. But Roberts said the accuser never gave her any reason to believe she had been attacked.

In April, Roberts told The AP she was not in the bathroom, “so I can’t say a rape occurred — and I never will.” She also told police that the rape allegations were a “crock” and that she was with the accuser the entire time they were at the party, according to documents filed by the defense in June.

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