EXCLUSIVE: 'My daughter told the truth': Father of UVA girl, 20, defends her claim that she WAS raped - and says she simply got name of fraternity where 'attack' happened wrong

  • Jackie's father told MailOnline his daughter was not a liar despite Rolling Stone magazine saying there were flaws in her account
  • He said she had only been at university two weeks when attack happened and had simply got fraternity name wrong 
  • Jackie told the magazine she was raped by seven men in a frat-house after being taken there by her date
  • Magazine said she identified them as Phi Kappa Psi but she then told the Washington Post that she had NOT said they were members of fraternity
  • The magazine apologized for its article and said questions had been raised over Jackie's credibility - and was accused of 'victim blaming'
  • The magazine has now admitted 'these mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie' after being doused in criticism for apology
  • Father, speaking at northern Virginia home, says his daughter has been 'crucified' after speaking out

The father of the University of Virginia student at the center of the Rolling Stone fraternity rape row today insisted his daughter had told the truth.

The 61-year-old told MailOnline his daughter had been ‘crushed’ by accusations that she had made up the testimony that she had been gang-raped at a UVA fraternity party in 2012.

The father said his daughter - known as Jackie - had wrongly identified the Phi Kappa Psi as the fraternity where she had been attacked as she had only started the university two weeks before.

And he added that his daughter’s detractors had failed in their duty to seek her version of events before accusing her of lying.

Jackie's father told MailOnline: ‘She told the truth. She did not know the details [of the fraternity] because she had been there for two weeks and she was 18 years old.’

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Victim: Jackie, who is not being identified by MailOnline. Her father today said she was telling the truth and had made one mistake about the fraternity's name

Victim: Jackie, who is not being identified by MailOnline. Her father today said she was telling the truth and had made one mistake about the fraternity's name

Rolling Stone magazine has apologized for trusting the subject of rape article after the University of Virginia fraternity revealed they did not have a party the night of alleged rape and no 'lifeguard' is a member. Pictured: Students walk to campus past the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house 

Rolling Stone magazine has apologized for trusting the subject of rape article after the University of Virginia fraternity revealed they did not have a party the night of alleged rape and no 'lifeguard' is a member. Pictured: Students walk to campus past the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house 

Rolling Stone's new apology (pictured) now says 'these mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie.' The magazine's original note was criticized for placing the blame for the botched article on the alleged rape's victim

Rolling Stone's new apology (pictured) now says 'these mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie.' The magazine's original note was criticized for placing the blame for the botched article on the alleged rape's victim

The father condemned the intense media scrutiny his daughter had been put under after it emerged details of the Rolling Stone article on university campus rape, published last month, had been wrong.

Speaking on the steps of his smart detached home in an affluent housing development in Northern Virginia where the family lives with their pet dogs he said: ‘[The media] crushed my daughter when she is an innocent girl. [The media] crucified her.'

Jackie's father's robust defense of her comes after the Rolling Stone article which began with her account of being attacked in a fraternity house at UVA.

In the story by writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely, a junior identified only as 'Jackie' says she was repeatedly assaulted by a group of seven Phi Kappa Psi fraternity members.

But on Friday, Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana apologized in a letter to readers, admitting there were discrepancies in Jackie's account about the incident and saying that the magazine has now 'come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced.'

The magazine came under heavy fire for an apology that was seen as blaming the victim and throwing Jackie under the bus.

Rolling Stone has since quietly changed the three-paragraph note, adding a section saying: 'These mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie.' 

'We published the article with the firm belief that it was accurate,' reads the new section of the apology, seen as of Saturday. '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.'

Her father's comment that she did not know the fraternity name come after Jackie herself told the Washington Post that she had not known the name of the fraternity and had not told Rolling Stone that she did.

In fact, she said, 'I know it was Phi Psi, because a year afterward, my friend pointed out the building to me and said that’s where it happened'.

Advocates for sexual assault victims have been furious since Rolling Stone's original apology. 

Though the magazine has been forced to backpedal on parts of their story, these advocates worry that many may lose sight of the fact that the problem of rape is still a major one that needs to be addressed and confronted. 

There are also concerns that some victims may now be afraid to come forward.

Despite revelations that Rolling Stone was distancing itself from the story, some students say they still saw hints of truth in the account—and that in itself means something.

'If we are being honest with ourselves, no matter if specifics of the article are true—reading the article as a college student, you were thinking, "This could happen,"' sophomore Rex Humphries, who joined a fraternity last spring, told Politico Magazine.

Julia Horowitz, a student journalist at UVA, wrote in the publication: 'What does it say that we read an article in which an 18-year-old girl was pinned down, graphically violated by multiple people in a house we pass almost every day — and we thought, “That just may be right?”'

'These events undoubtedly do occur here,' added freshman Maddie Rita to Politico Magazine.

'And while this report has clearly had factual flaws as well as rhetorical missteps, there are plenty of other fully corroborated accounts not only at this university, but at every university around the country.' 

On Friday Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana apologized in a letter (pictured) to readers, admitting there were discrepancies in Jackie's account about the incident at the Charlottesville, Virginia school and saying that the magazine has now 'come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced'

On Friday Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana apologized in a letter (pictured) to readers, admitting there were discrepancies in Jackie's account about the incident at the Charlottesville, Virginia school and saying that the magazine has now 'come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced'

Tagged: The house was graffitied on Thursday, hours after a Rolling Stone article was published detailing the gang-rape allegations against the fraternity
Tagged: The house was graffitied on Thursday, hours after a Rolling Stone article was published detailing the gang-rape allegations against the fraternity

Tagged: The house was sprayed with graffiti hours after the Rolling Stone article was published detailing the gang-rape allegations against the fraternity

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity issued a statement revealing it did not have a party the night of the alleged rape and it did not have a member who was a 'lifeguard' at the time.

On Friday afternoon, Phi Kappa Psi released a statement denying the attack took place in its house.

The fraternity said that it was working with police, but said it had found out several aspects of the account were inaccurate - it said Phi Kappa Psi did not host party the night of the alleged assault.

The statement said the fraternity had reviewed 'the 2012 roster of employees at the Aquatic and Fitness Center does not list a Phi Kappa Psi as a lifeguard. As far as we have determined, no member of our fraternity worked there in any capacity during this time period.' 

Phi Kappa Psi said the house does not have pledges during the fall semester - Jackie claimed she was allegedly raped as part of an initiation pledge - it stated 'no ritualized sexual assault is part of our pledging or initiation process. This notion is vile, and we vehemently refute this claim.'

Some of the subject's friends, told the Washington Post, they believe Jackie did endure a traumatizing incident, but parts of her account do not add up.

'DOUBTS OF ACCURACY': UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA'S STATEMENT IN FULL 

'Over the past two weeks the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi has been working tirelessly and openly with the Charlottesville Police Department as they investigate the allegations detailed in the November 19, 2012 Rolling Stone article. We continue to be shocked by the allegations and saddened by this story. 

We have no knowledge of these alleged acts being committed at our house or by our members. Anyone who commits any form of sexual assault, wherever or whenever, should be identified and brought to justice.

'In tandem with the Charlottesville Police Department's investigation, the Chapter's undergraduate members have made efforts to contribute with internal fact-finding. Our initial doubts as to the accuracy of the article have only been strengthened as alumni and undergraduate members have delved deeper. 

'Given the ongoing nature of the criminal investigation, which we fully support, we do not feel it would be appropriate at this time to provide more than the following:

'First, the 2012 roster of employees at the Aquatic and Fitness Center does not list a Phi Kappa Psi as a lifeguard. As far as we have determined, no member of our fraternity worked there in any capacity during this time period.

'Second, the Chapter did not have a date function or a social event during the weekend of September 28th, 2012.

'Third, our Chapter's pledging and initiation periods, as required by the University and Inter-Fraternity Council, take place solely in the spring semester and not in the fall semester. 

'We document the initiation of new members at the end of each spring. Moreover, no ritualized sexual assault is part of our pledging or initiation process. This notion is vile, and we vehemently refute this claim.

'It is our hope that this information will encourage people who may know anything relevant to this case to contact the Charlottesville Police Department as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to assist investigators in whatever way we can.'

They said Jackie told them for the first time the alleged attacker's name recently, but no-one by that name has been a member of Phi Kappa Psi -  it turned out to be similar to the name of a student who belongs to a different fraternity, and no one by that name has been a member of Phi Kappa Psi. 

The international fall-out from the report on one of University of Virginia's most illustrious fraternities was extremely damaging - it accused the school of repeatedly hushing up sexual assault victims in order to protect their reputation and the fraternity house was sprayed with graffiti reading 'Suspend us!' and 'UVA Center for RAPE Studies'.

University president Teresa Sullivan promised a full investigation and said it would examine the way the school responds to sexual assault allegations.  

In a statement today about the article, titled 'A Rape on Campus' by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, Managing Editor Will Dana wrote: 'Because of the sensitive nature of Jackie's story, we decided to honor her request not to contact the man she claimed orchestrated the attack on her nor any of the men she claimed participated in the attack for fear of retaliation against her.

'In the months Erdely spent reporting the story, Jackie neither said nor did anything that made Erdely, or Rolling Stone's editors and fact-checkers, question Jackie's credibility. 

'Her friends and rape activists on campus strongly supported Jackie's account. She had spoken of the assault in campus forums. 

'We reached out to both the local branch and the national leadership of the fraternity where Jackie said she was attacked. 

'They responded that they couldn't confirm or deny her story but had concerns about the evidence.

But he added after receiving new information, the pop culture magazine was led to conclude it needed to issue an apology. 

'We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault and now regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account,' wrote Dana. 

'We are taking this seriously and apologize to anyone who was affected by the story.'  

In the piece published last month, it was claimed that Jackie decided not to press charges when the incident first happened, but she felt she needed to go public with her story after hearing from two other women who were gang raped at the fraternity, which counts President Woodrow Wilson as one of their distinguished alumni.  

In her account she spoke of the difficulty in breaking her silence, and said in some cases it was met with opposition by her friends at UVA.

'One of my roommates said, 'Do you want to be responsible for something that's gonna paint UVA in a bad light?''' Jackie told the magazine. 

'But I said, 'UVA has flown under the radar for so long, someone has to say something about it, or else it's gonna be this system that keeps perpetuating!' 

'My friend just said, 'You have to remember where your loyalty lies.'' 

In the account Jackie claimed she was just a few weeks into her freshman year at UVA when she met a junior boy named Drew, through their shifts working as lifeguards at the university pool.

When Drew asked her out to dinner and a 'date night' function at his fraternity, Jackie claimed she accepted and spent three hours getting ready for the night out on September 28, 2012.

Back at the fraternity house after dinner, she claimed the two spent some time at the party before Drew asked if she wanted to go upstairs where it was quieter.

A member of the audience holds a sign during a board of visitors meeting about sexual assault at the University of Virginia on November 25, 2014 in Charlottesville following the damning article's publication

The meeting was called after the magazine published the article describing a woman's account of a brutal gang rape, and what the magazine called a hidden culture of sexual violence at the school

But when Drew led her into his bedroom and shut the door, the room was pitch black and she could hear others moving around. That's when the nightmare started, she claimed. 

She said a man tackled her down and onto a glass table which shattered and tore up her back.

Others held her down and for the next three hours, she lay helpless as seven men allegedly raped her while two others, including her date Drew, watched and gave direction.

She claimed the men swigged beers and called each other nicknames like 'Armpit' and 'Blanket'.

Jackie claimed she was able to identify the last man who assaulted her from her anthropology discussion group, and his friends started taunting him because he couldn't get an erection, asking 'What, she's not hot enough for you?' and 'Don't you want to be a brother?'

Scandal: The Rolling Stone article accused the school of repeatedly hushing up sexual assault victims in order to protect their reputation. An aerial view of the campus, designed by Thomas Jefferson, above

Scandal: The Rolling Stone article accused the school of repeatedly hushing up sexual assault victims in order to protect their reputation. An aerial view of the campus, designed by Thomas Jefferson, above

When Jackie came to at 3am, the room was deserted but the party was still going on downstairs. She claimed she fled the house in her bloodied dress, barefoot because she was too afraid to look around for her shoes. 

She said she then called her three best friends at the time, two guys and a girl, who found her beaten and in shock.

While her friends were distraught at her condition, she claimed they debated calling the police fearing the impact it would have on Jackie's and their reputation (the two boys wanted to rush a fraternity).

She claimed she finally opened up to Dean Nicole Eramo, the head of UVA's Sexual Misconduct Board, but she was told she could go to the police with her story, or treat the incident internally by either filing a complaint with the school's Sexual Misconduct Board, or sit down for an informal resolution' with her attackers in a meeting mediated by Eramo.

Jackie said she decided on neither option, and claimed Dean Eramo did not open an investigation into the fraternity.

Protests: A member of the audience holds a sign during a board of visitors meeting about sexual assault at the University of Virginia last week in Charlottesville following the damning article's publication

Protests: A member of the audience holds a sign during a board of visitors meeting about sexual assault at the University of Virginia last week in Charlottesville following the damning article's publication

She told the magazine she was now coming forward two years later, because she had recently discovered that two other women experienced similar assaults at Phi Kappa Psi.

The first account came from a woman who graduated in 2013 who said she was raped by a group of men at the house when she was a freshman. 

The other was a first-year whose friends called Jackie one night when she came back to her apartment wearing no pants, and said she'd been attacked by four men in the Phi Kappa Psi bathroom while another watched.

Perhaps most startling about the allegations is what Dean Eramo allegedly said in a meeting with Jackie last May. 

Jackie claimed she and her friend Alex went to speak with Eramo in her office, and Eramo said that she heard it 'through the grapevine' that 'all the boys involved [in the gang rape] had graduated'. 

Jackie claimed that was false since she saw one of her attackers on a campus riding a bike recently. 

In a statement posted to the school's website following the accusations, UVA President Teresa A Sullivan said that the school has asked the Charlottesville police to investigate a fraternity based on new details from the article. 

'The University takes seriously the issue of sexual misconduct, a significant problem that colleges and universities are grappling with across the nation. Our goal is to provide an environment that is as safe as possible for our students and the entire University community,' President Sullivan writes.