The investigation into the Duke University rape allegations will continue, the chief prosecutor in charge of the case announced yesterday.

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong spoke at a community forum held on the North Carolina Central University campus Tuesday, saying the DNA test results — which revealed Monday no connection between the alleged victim and any Duke lacrosse team members — would not put an end to the case.

"It doesn't mean nothing happened," Nifong said of the DNA results at the forum, The Associated Press reported. "It just means nothing was left behind."

Nifong also said a second set of DNA results will be examined by the prosecution, adding 75 to 80 percent of sexual assaults leave no traceable DNA results to analyze.

The rape allegations stemmed from an off-campus party attended by members of the Duke lacrosse team March 13, where a black exotic dancer was hired to perform. She later told police she was assaulted and raped by three men there — all white.

Police collected DNA samples from 46 of the 47 lacrosse players following the allegations; the sole black team member was excluded from testing because he did not fit the alleged attackers' profiles.

The remainder of the lacrosse team's season has since been cancelled, and Coach Mike Pressler resigned last Wednesday following the revelation of a lacrosse team member's e-mail that made statements about killing and skinning strippers.

That player, Duke sophomore Ryan McFadyen, has been suspended, according to a release from Duke President Richard Brodhead.

With controversy mounting in the Durham community over the rape allegations and Monday's DNA results announcement, a panel including Nifong, Duke student government president Jesse Longoria, Durham city councilman Howard Clement III, Durham mayor Bill Bell and Deondra Ramsey, senior class president at N.C. Central — where the alleged victim is a student — assembled to address the community and answer questions regarding the proceedings.

"It was a good starting point for continued dialogue that needs to take place," Longoria said in an interview with The Badger Herald. "It was a very emotional atmosphere. These allegations are of such magnitude that if you're not emotional talking about it, you can't make meaningful progress."

Continued conversations over the next days, weeks and months, Longoria said, will determine the status of relations between the two campuses and the city community.

With the national media portraying the city as intensely divided, racially and otherwise, Longoria said those involved will have to "take that as a challenge to not only salvage and maintain those relationships, but to strengthen them."

Longoria also noted the polarity of student opinion at Duke regarding the case and its handling.

"As a student representative, you're supposed to represent the climate of your campus," he said. "But in this situation there isn't a single climate to represent. It's really a mixed bag."

Some students were surprised at the negative DNA test results, he said, while others — especially close family and friends of the lacrosse players — saw the results as affirmation of the players' continued cry of innocence.

Despite these differing views, though, Longoria said there are aspects of the case on which there is universal agreement — all sexual assault is abhorrent, and everyone just wants to find the truth, he said, adding, "We don't want to avoid having the difficult conversations."

As of now, no charges have been filed in the case.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.