WASHINGTON — Rolling Stone magazine has responded to a defamation lawsuit over its discredited story about a frat house gang rape at the University of Virginia and is asking for the case to be dismissed.
A University of Virginia associate dean Nicole Eramo sued Rolling Stone magazine in May for more than $7.5 million, saying a debunked and retracted account of an alleged gang rape on campus cast her as the “chief villain.”
In court documents filed Thursday, Rolling Stone says it’s “not aware of any inaccuracies …” concerning Eramo in the article.
Eramo said the lengthy and graphic magazine piece about a student rape victim identified only as “Jackie” portrayed her as more concerned about protecting the elite university’s reputation than helping victims of sexual assault.
The magazine says it repeatedly requested Eramo by letter and email, to identify statements in the article she believed to be false and defamatory — but was ignored.
If the case does not end up getting dismissed — the magazine demands a jury trial
A report published by the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism said Rolling Stone failed at virtually every step of the process, from the reporting by Sabrina Rubin Erdely to an editing process that included high-ranking staffers.
Also, the Charlottesville police department said it had found no evidence to back the claims of Jackie, who said she was raped by seven men at a fraternity house in September 2012.
WTOP’s Kristi King and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
