CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on a defamation trial against Rolling Stone over a discredited story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia(all times local):
11:30 a.m.
A defense attorney for Rolling Stone is cross-examining a University of Virginia administrator seeking $7.85 million in a defamation lawsuit over a retracted story about a gang rape at the school.
WVIR-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2ekGC1v) that defense attorney Elizabeth McNamara asked administrator Nicole Eramo on Wednesday why she and the university didn’t investigate multiple rape allegations from the woman identified only as “Jackie.”
Eramo said it was best for police to investigate, but Jackie wasn’t cooperating with investigators.
Reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely is expected to testify later Wednesday. Her 2014 story described Jackie’s account of being raped by seven men at a fraternity house in 2012. A police investigation found no evidence to back up claims.
Eramo counseled Jackie and claims the article portrayed her as indifferent to Jackie’s assault because she wanted to protect the school’s reputation.
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4 a.m.
The reporter of a Rolling Stone story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia that was later retracted is expected to take the stand in the defamation trial against the magazine.
Sabrina Rubin Erdely is expected to testify Wednesday after attorneys finish questioning university administrator Nicole Eramo, who sued the magazine for $7.85 million.
Erdely’s November 2014 story described in alarming detail a woman’s account of being raped by seven men at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house in September 2012. A police investigation found no evidence to back up claims made by the woman identified only as “Jackie.”
Eramo counseled Jackie and claims the article portrayed her as indifferent to Jackie’s assault. An attorney for Eramo said Tuesday that the case is about a “journalistic failure.”
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