Jury selection begins for Rolling Stone rape story lawsuit

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jury selection has begun in a University of Virginia administrator’s defamation case against Rolling Stone magazine over its now discredited story about a rape on campus.

WVIR-TV reports that jury selection began this morning at the federal court in Charlottesville.

The November 2014 story told the harrowing story of a woman identified only as “Jackie,” who claimed she was gang raped by seven men in a fraternity initiation. An investigation by Charlottesville police found no evidence to back up Jackie’s claims and details in the lengthy narrative did not hold up under scrutiny by other media organizations.

UVa administrator Nicole Eramo is seeking $7.85 million from the magazine. She claims the article portrayed her as indifferent to Jackie’s plight and only interested in protecting the university’s reputation.