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Rolling Stone defamation trial over rape article begins

Sabrina Erdely, center, enters the federal courthouse in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Erdely, author of "A Rape on Campus," a discredited Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged rape at the University of Virginia, is being sued by Nicole Eramo, a UVa administrator included in the story. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP) Sabrina Erdely, center, enters the federal courthouse in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Erdely, author of "A Rape on Campus," a discredited Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged rape at the University of Virginia, is being sued by Nicole Eramo, a UVa administrator included in the story. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP)

By Associated Press October 18, 2016 3 min read

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – The woman who claimed she was gang raped in a now-discredited story in Rolling Stone magazine said the University of Virginia dean who counseled her after she came forward about her alleged assault “did everything right,” an attorney said Tuesday.

The attorney’s comment came during the opening of a $7.85 million defamation trial against the magazine over its November 2014 story “A Rape on Campus.” It was the first time that any portion of the deposition from the woman identified in the article only as “Jackie” has been publicly revealed.

University administrator Nicole Eramo claims the article cast her as the “chief villain” who sought to protect the school by discouraging Jackie from reporting her alleged assault to police.

Eramo’s attorney said Jackie’s remarks contradict the magazine’s portrayal of the dean as indifferent. Attorney Tom Clare read part of Jackie’s deposition aloud in court.

“I never felt like she suppressed my sexual assault,” Jackie said in the deposition. “I personally thought that she did everything right.”