'A Rape on Campus': Judge Rules 'Jackie' Must Turn Over Documents Pertaining to Rolling Stone Story
ByIn hearing the University of Virginia's lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine, a judge ordered the woman who was the subject of the now-retracted article to turn over all documents she has that pertain to the story.
The woman, who is only going by "Jackie" to protect her identity, told a writer named Sabrina Rubin Erdely she was brutally gang raped at a fraternity house on UVA's campus. Lawyers representing UVA associate dean Nicole Eramo are trying to prove the male student who allegedly led the attack was made up, The Washington Post reported.
Eramo is suing Rolling Stone for defamation, painting her as the villainous administrator who neglected Jackie's complaints in an articled titled "A Rape on Campus" published in Nov. 2014. Erdely's story punctuated what President Obama has called an "epidemic" of campus sexual assault cases that are mishandled by the victims' schools, and it quickly went viral.
But shortly after publication various news outlets picked apart Jackie's story and people from the story refuted the events, leading Rolling Stone to have the article reviewed. That led to a full retraction and lawsuits from UVA and the fraternity implicated in the story.
Eramo's lawyers previously requested Jackie's documentations related to her case because they believe she invented every aspect of her account, The Post reported. Sexual assault survivor advocates have stood by Jackie, claiming she embellished the details of a real attack, but Eramo's lawyers are apparently looking to prove none of it was true.
In addition to The Post and other news outlets' reviews, the Charlottesville Police's investigation turned up insufficient evidence to pursue the case further. Eramo's lawyers also noted Jackie was the only source Erdely relied upon for her story, a decision both she and Rolling Stone would later regret.
All told, Eramo's lawyers are trying to prove Jackie "catfished" a fellow UVA student named Ryan Duffin, The Washington Post reported. Eramo's lawyers believe Jackie started texting Duffin as a male student named Haven Monahan because he would not return her affections.
The Charlottesville Police later determined Monahan was not nor ever was a student at UVA. The pictures Jackie shared with Duffin that showed her and Monahan were actually of a male student from her high school. The male student told The Post the pictures were of him, not Haven Monahan.