"Jackie," who was the center of the now-discredited Rolling Stone story "A Rape on Campus," has testified under oath in a testimony that was immediately sealed. The case is a defamation lawsuit filed by Nicole Eramo, the associate dean of students at the University of Virginia. Eramo was not portrayed favorably in the piece.
Initially, "Jackie" had refused to testify as she claimed that doing so would be traumatic. (There is no evidence that the crime described by "Jackie" ever occurred. Rolling Stone eventually retracted the story.) A judge didn't buy her excuse, and ruled she'd have to testify.
A Virginia judge ruled earlier this week that the woman identified publicly only as "Jackie" must take part in a deposition as part of a defamation lawsuit against the magazine filed by Nicole Eramo, an associate dean of students at UVA.
Attorneys for Eramo claim that Rolling Stone's "recklessness" led to her portrayal "as a callous administrator who discouraged Jackie from reporting an assault to police." Eramo is seeking $7.85 million in damages.
The deposition took place on Thursday, but all records and transcripts were marked by the judge as confidential.
Rolling Stone is also being sued by the fraternity named in the piece as well as three members of the fraternity.
Honestly, I'm glad she had to testify. The story has been retracted, there are a heap of discrepancies surrounding her account and a lot of her college experiences, and I'm pleased she's finally facing the consequences of her lies.
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