CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - The Latest on the defamation trial against Rolling Stone magazine over its since-retracted story about a woman’s gang rape at the University of Virginia(all times local):
3:15 p.m.
The woman portrayed in a discredited Rolling Stone magazine story says the account of her rape described in the article is what she believed “to be true at the time.”
In a video deposition played to jurors on Monday, “Jackie” said she has trouble remembering details of her assault because she has post-traumatic stress disorder.
When asked by an attorney if she stands by the truth of her account, Jackie responded: “I stand by the account I gave to Rolling Stone. I believed it to be true at the time.”
When pressed to explain, Jackie added that she believes she was assaulted but some of the details are “foggy” because of her PTSD.
Jackie told Rolling Stone she was gang raped by seven men at the University of Virginia as part of a fraternity initiation. A police investigation later found no evidence to back up Jackie’s claims.
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12:30
The woman who claimed she was gang raped in a discredited Rolling Stone magazine article says she felt “scared and overwhelmed” when she realized she couldn’t back out of the story.
Jurors on Monday heard previously videotaped deposition of the woman identified in Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s article only as “Jackie.”
Jackie said she was under the impression when she first spoke to Erdely that the article would focus on sexual assault advocacy, not Jackie’s rape. Jackie said she didn’t even initially realize what she told Erdely would be published.
She said that at 20 years old, she “had no idea there was an off the record or an on the record.” She added: “I was naive.”
Jackie said she wanted to pull out of the article when she realized her story would be the focus, but was told by her friend that she couldn’t. Before the article was published, Jackie said she remembered “feeling scared and overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.”
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10:30 a.m.
The author of a discredited Rolling Stone magazine article is telling jurors about her visit to a University of Virginia fraternity house, where a woman claimed she was raped.
Sabrina Rubin Erdely continued her testimony Monday in a court case over the article. University administrator Nicole Eramo has sued the magazine for $7.8 million, claiming the article made her its “chief villain” and was defamatory. The article tells the story of a woman identified only as “Jackie,” who claimed she was gang-raped. A police investigation found no evidence to back up the claims.
Erdely says she visited the Phi Kappa Psi house in September 2014 to determine whether Jackie’s description of it matched reality. She said she didn’t identify herself as a reporter and asked to use the restroom to gain access.
Erdely acknowledged that she didn’t try to interview fraternity brothers while she was there or ask whether they knew the men Jackie said had attacked her.
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3:30 a.m.
Jurors are heading back to court for the second week of the defamation trial against Rolling Stone magazine over its 2014 story about a rape at the University of Virginia.
University of Virginia administrator Nicole Eramo is seeking $7.8 million from the magazine over its portrayal of her in Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s article “A Rape on Campus.”
The story told the harrowing account of a woman identified only as “Jackie,” who claimed she was brutally gang raped by seven men. A police investigation later found no evidence to back up Jackie’s claims.
Jurors are expected this week to watch a video of “Jackie’s” deposition, which was taken in April. The trial, which began last Monday, is expected to last 12 days.
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This story corrects placement of quotation marks in first paragraph.
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