Tawana Brawley claimed that Steven Pagones and others raped her in prison . Brawley , who is black , said the white men wrote racial slurs on her body . Al Sharpton took up her cause , which a grand jury later found to be false . Brawley started paying Pagones monies arising from a civil lawsuit .
Tawana Brawley claimed that Steven Pagones and others raped her in 1987 . Brawley , who is black , said the white men wrote racial slurs on her body . Al Sharpton took up her cause , which a grand jury later found to be false . Brawley started paying Pagones monies owed from a defamation lawsuit .