Jackie Coakley has been named by blogger Charles Johnson as the alleged rape victim at the University of Virginia that was reported on by Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone included Jackie’s first name but omitted her last name.
Johnson on his blog Got News says that he confirmed with sources that Coakley, 20, was the girl named in the story. “We can also confirm that Jackie Coakley has misled other students at both her high school and her college about her past sexual relations with men,” he said.
The full identity is unverified. No other media outlets have confirmed Johnson’s information as of yet.
The Rolling Stone story was the subject of intense criticism, leading the magazine to publish a correction. “In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie’s account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced,” Rolling Stone said.
“We published the article with the firm belief that it was accurate. Given all of these reports, however, we have come to the conclusion that we were mistaken in honoring Jackie’s request to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. In trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault, we made a judgment – the kind of judgment reporters and editors make every day,” it said later.
“We should have not made this agreement with Jackie and we should have worked harder to convince her that the truth would have been better served by getting the other side of the story. These mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie. We apologize to anyone who was affected by the story and we will continue to investigate the events of that evening.”
The original story was changed by the Rolling Stone mostly due to a Washington Post investigation, which found “key elements” of the allegations were doubtful.
Now Johnson, who has also been heavily criticized before for his questionable reporting, has jumped into the fray. Johnson was the first person to name American Ebola patient Nina Pham, for instance, but got his Twitter account suspended when he also shared her address.
He’s also reported on multiple stories that later were cast in doubt, including the time when he came under investigation of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood for allegedly paying a Meridian resident to lie about a vote-buying scheme. His reporting has enraged many people, such as a blogger at women’s blog Jezebel who said he writes content that’s “racist” and “Islamophobic.”
Johnson has stood firm on the new rape issue, though, and says that his information is correct.
He also shared a picture of Coakley, and some of her posts on social media accounts, claiming that the posts show how she’s “rape-obsessed.”
See an Associated Press update to the situation on the next page.
Groups Urge UVa to Reinstate Fraternity Activities
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The University of Virginia should lift its suspension of fraternity and sorority activities now that Rolling Stone has acknowledged mistakes in its reporting of an alleged gang rape on campus, three organizations said in a statement.
The Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee, the National Panhellenic Conference and the North-American Interfraternity Conference also said the university should apologize for a “rush to judgment” that damaged the reputation of Greek organizations and students.
University President Teresa A. Sullivan suspended Greek activities until Jan. 9 after Rolling Stonepublished an article last month describing an alleged gang rape at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house. In their statement Sunday, the three national Greek organizations said the decision was made before an investigation into the story’s allegations was completed.
“We believe universities must demonstrate more respect for the fundamental rights to due process and freedom of association for students and student organizations when allegations of misconduct are lodged,” they said. “A rush to judgment on campus all too often turns out to be wrong, especially when applied at the organizational level.”
University spokesmen did not immediately return telephone and email messages to The Associated Press on Monday.
The statement came the same day that Rolling Stone modified its earlier apology to emphasize that the mistakes were the magazine’s fault, not the alleged victim’s. Friday’s original note to readers said of Jackie, the alleged victim who was the main source for the story: “Our trust in her was misplaced.” The updated note removes that line, which struck some critics as blaming the victim.
The magazine said it shouldn’t have agreed to Jackie’s request not to contact the alleged assailants to get their side of the story, out of sensitivity to her. “These mistakes are onRolling Stone, not on Jackie,” wrote the magazine’s managing editor, Will Dana. “We apologize to anyone who was affected by the story and we will continue to investigate the events of that evening.”
The Rolling Stone article rocked a campus still reeling from the disappearance and death of 18-year-old sophomore Hannah Graham. It portrayed a culture of sexual violence at U.Va., one of the nation’s leading public universities, and an administration response that put protecting the school’s image ahead of seeking justice for sex crimes.
Phi Kappa Psi has denied the assault and said it didn’t host an event on the night Jackie alleged she was raped. Dana said in his updated note that Jackie is now unsure that the man who allegedly lured her into a room to be raped by seven men was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and that other discrepancies in her account have emerged. Jackie told the Washington Post she stood by her story.
Some advocates for rape victims have expressed concern that the magazine’s backpedaling could undermine efforts to combat campus sexual assaults. The U.Va. Inter-Fraternity Council said that should not be allowed to happen.
“Sexual assault is a problem across college campuses, and we remain committed to being leaders in the campaign for long-term change,” the council, which represents U.Va.’s 31 fraternities, said in a statement.
