Education

UVA Frat ‘Exploring Legal Options’ Against Rolling Stone Over False Rape Story

Alex Griswold Media Reporter
Font Size:

The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi is considering filing a lawsuit against the magazine Rolling Stone after it published and then retracted a story claiming a student was gang-raped by seven members of the fraternity. (VIDEO: Judge Napolitano: Rolling Stone Guilty Of ‘Outrageous Negligence’)

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, the Phi Psi men said they felt vindicated by the Charlottesville police department’s recent findings that there was no evidence any rape occurred on the night in question, and that there wasn’t even a party at the Phi Psi house. The police investigation also found that “Jackie,” the woman making the allegations, embellished an attack that allegedly occurred in retaliation for her on-campus sexual assault awareness advocacy.

“Following the publication of the defamatory article, the chapter launched an extensive internal investigation, which quickly confirmed that the horrific events described in the Rolling Stone article did not occur,” the Phi Psi men said in a statement, adding that the frat was “exploring its legal options to address the extensive damage caused by Rolling Stone.” (RELATED: Here Are EIGHT Campus Rape Hoaxes Eerily Like The UVA Rape Story)

Rolling Stone has previously apologized for the UVA rape story after numerous outlets began uncovering inconsistencies in freelance journalist Sabrina Rubin Erderly’s reporting. “These mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie,” they wrote last December. “We apologize to anyone who was affected by the story and we will continue to investigate the events of that evening.”

As for the other major players in the saga? “Jackie” reportedly hired a lawyer shortly after Rolling Stone retracted its article. Meanwhile, Erderly has gone completely silent since the allegations fell apart, and hasn’t tweeted or made any public statements since November 30.

[h/t ABC News]

Follow Alex Griswold on Twitter