Rolling Stone avows ‘discrepancies’ in rape article

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Rolling Stone magazine acknowledged Friday that it now has reservations about an article it published that made detailed allegations of a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity.

The magazine said its trust in the sole source for the article, Jackie, the woman making the allegations, was misplaced.

Managing editor Will Dana wrote Friday that there appeared to be “discrepancies” in the description of the gang rape in the Nov. 19 article, “A Rape on Campus,” by Sabrina Rubin Erdely.

In the face of new information, Dana wrote, “we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced.”

Dana said the magazine did not seek to contact any of the individuals whom Jackie, who was identified only by her first name, accused of a 2012 rape.

“We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault,” he said, “and now regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. We are taking this seriously and apologize to anyone who was affected by the story.”

Erdely did not return messages seeking comment Friday. In an interview earlier this week, after questions were raised about the Nov. 19 article, she stood by her reporting.

“I am convinced that it could not have been done any other way, or any better,” she said and suggested that the debate about the veracity of the article stood only to divert attention from the real scandal — a crime that had not been sufficiently investigated.

The report of the discrepancies first appeared on the website of The Washington Post.

After the Rolling Stone article was released, university officials were accused of mishandling and concealing the sexual assaults for years. Anger over the story led university President Teresa Sullivan to suspend the school’s more than 30 fraternities and related social activities and sparked protests at the school.

At a meeting last week in Charlottesville, members of the university’s board said they were devastated by the report and gave no indication that its veracity was in question.

George Keith Martin, the university rector, began the meeting by saying, “I would like to say to Jackie and her family that I’m sorry.” Others lamented her reported treatment at the hands of the university, and the police chief called for witnesses to come forward.

At the meeting, university officials agreed to come up with recommendations on how to address the problem of sexual assaults on campus.

“Over the past two weeks, our community has been more focused than ever on one of the most difficult and critical issues facing higher education today,” Sullivan said Friday in a statement. “Today’s news must not alter this focus” and students’ well-being remains “our top priority,” she said.

State Attorney General Mark Herring criticized the magazine, saying its revelations leave many questions unanswered.

“It is deeply troubling that Rolling Stone magazine is now publicly walking away from its central story line in its bombshell report on the University of Virginia without correcting what errors its editors believe were made,” Herring said in a statement. “Virginians are now left grasping for the truth, but we must not let that undermine our support for survivors of sexual assault or the momentum for solutions.”

The story centered on Jackie, a freshman, who said she was raped by seven men after being invited to a “date function” at a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house by an unnamed member with whom she worked as a lifeguard.

The chapter on Friday provided results from its “internal fact-finding,” which conflict with the Rolling Stone account.

No Phi Kappa Psi members were listed as lifeguards on the 2012 employee roster of the university’s Aquatic and Fitness Center, according to a statement from the group. The chapter also said it didn’t hold a “date function” during the weekend of Sept. 28, 2012.

“We have no knowledge of these alleged acts being committed at our house or by our members,” the fraternity said. “Anyone who commits any form of sexual assault, wherever or whenever, should be identified and brought to justice.”

The chapter encouraged those with information about the case to call the police.

Gary Pleasants, a spokesman for the Charlottesville Police Department, said the latest report did not change the focus of its work. The department said last week that it would look into the matter.

“Our purpose is to find the truth in any matter, and that’s what we are looking for here,” Pleasants said.