Rolling Stone backpedals on rape story

Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.

Rolling Stone cast doubt Friday on its story of a young woman who said she was gang-raped at a fraternity party at the University of Virginia, saying it has since learned of “discrepancies” in her account.

“Our trust in her was misplaced,” the magazine’s editor, Will Dana, wrote in a signed apology.

The backpedaling dispirited advocates for rape victims who said they are concerned it could lead to a setback in efforts to combat sexual assaults both at U.Va. and college campuses elsewhere.

The lengthy article published last month focused on a woman it identified only as “Jackie,” using her case as an example of what it called a culture of sexual violence hiding in plain sight at U.Va.