The University of Virginia’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity was rewarded $1.65 million in a settlement with Rolling Stone magazine. The fraternity was seeking $25 million in damages brought on by a story written by the well-known publication.
As previously reported on Campus Safety Magazine, the story stated that the alleged victim, known only by the name of ‘Jackie’, was a first-year student at the university when she was brutally beaten and raped by seven men from the fraternity.
The article, written by Sabrina Erdely, was discredited shortly after it was released. Police found no evidence of the assault after conducting an investigation and discovered that Erdely never interviewed any of the alleged assailants.
The magazine released a statement apologizing to its readers, claiming “We published the article with the firm belief that it was accurate.”
According to ABC, it was the most-read, non-celebrity story in the entire history of the magazine, which has been in publication since 1967.
“It has been nearly three years since we and the entire University of Virginia community were shocked by the now infamous article, and we are pleased to be able to close the book on that trying ordeal and its aftermath,” says a statement from the fraternity.
The statement goes on to say that the fraternity plans to donate a large sum of the settlement money to organizations that educate on sexual assault awareness and afford services to sexual assault victims.
