After Rolling Stone Airs UVa Rape Claim, a Probe

'Rolling Stone' says freshman girl was assaulted by seven men in frat house
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2014 7:56 AM CST
After Rolling Stone Airs UVa Rape Claim, a Probe
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Police are investigating claims of a brutal gang rape inside a University of Virginia frat house in 2012, after a scathing Rolling Stone article. University President Teresa Sullivan asked police in Charlottesville to open an investigation, reports the Guardian, though she rejected the magazine's assertion that UVa has a "culture of hidden sexual violence." The Rolling Stone piece talks to a student identified only as Jackie who recounts how seven men raped her in a bedroom during a party at Phi Kappa Psi her freshman year. The details are horrific, with the men taunting one hesitant participant, "Don't you want to be a brother?" writes reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely. (Note: The magazine has since cast doubt on the alleged victim's account.)

Afterward, Jackie recalls how three of her friends decided not to bring her to the hospital. "She's gonna be the girl who cried 'rape,' and we'll never be allowed into any frat party again," a female friend is quoted as saying. Jackie says she eventually reported the case to the school's Sexual Misconduct Board, but not to police, and the allegations went nowhere. The story has set off a ruckus on campus, reports the local Daily Progress. Hundreds of students rallied yesterday against sexual violence, and vandals broke windows at the Phi Kappa Psi frat house. The frat has surrendered its school charter and stopped all activities, and UVa has appointed a former US deputy attorney general to review how it handles sexual assaults. Erdely notes that she hadn't talked to Jackie as of yesterday afternoon, and wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to police. Full article here. (More University of Virginia stories.)

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