UVA reinstates Phi Kappa Psi after police find no basis for claim of rape at frat

The Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has been reinstated at UVA after Charlottesville police indicated an investigation “has not revealed any substantive basis” to confirm allegations of a gang rape at the fraternity in 2012, according to a Monday announcement from University President Teresa Sullivan. The fraternity voluntarily rescinded its Fraternal Order […]

Jesse Matthew to appear in Fairfax court

Accused abductor Jesse Matthew, 33, will appear in court January 8 and 9 in Fairfax County for motions hearings pertaining to a 2005 rape in which he’s charged with attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile and sexual assault. Matthew’s attorney, former Albemarle commonwealth’s attorney Jim Camblos, is seeking a gag order and money […]

C-VILLE’s newsmakers of 2014

This year, Charlottesville’s local news was national news. Below, we take a look the people behind the biggest headlines of 2014 —and explain why you should be watching them in the months to come. No. 1: Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo If local residents weren’t able to recognize Tim Longo by sight at the beginning […]

FOIAed UVA/Rolling Stone e-mails released

The University of Virginia released more than 100 pages of correspondence with Rolling Stone on December 19, and the name “Jackie,” the source for an alleged gang rape at a fraternity, was never mentioned by Sabrina Rubin Erdely or Rolling Stone fact-checker Elisabeth Garber-Paul. UVA spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn warns Garber-Paul that Erdely’s story of […]

Opinion: A plan to reduce sexual assault at UVA

The following opinion piece by Jeffrey C. Fracher, Ph.D. and Bruce R. Williamson, Jr. ran in C-VILLE’s December 17 issue. The recent controversy over the Rolling Stone article does nothing to change the fact that the Sexual Misconduct Board (SMB) at the University of Virginia is a system broken beyond repair. It needs to be […]

Friends talk: Skeptical of Jackie’s account in Rolling Stone

In the horrific tale of a 2012 gang rape at UVA in Rolling Stone last month, aside from the alleged rapists, probably no one came off worse than the three callous friends of Jackie, who urged her not to report the alleged sexual assault and warned her it could affect her social status. Those friends have […]

Buried history: A 1954 case of sexual misconduct at UVA comes to light

Again and again in the national debate over UVA’s handling of campus sexual assault that followed Rolling Stone’s explosive and discredited story about an alleged gang rape, news outlets—including this one—have stated that the University has never expelled a student over accusations of sexual misconduct. That, it turns out, isn’t true, but you have to […]

Journalism prof: Rolling Stone debacle illustrates “dilution of ethics”

More than two weeks after Rolling Stone’s “A Rape on Campus” exploded onto the national scene and then imploded into a victim-blaming retraction, the story itself promises to live on—as a cautionary tale in journalism classes. “[T]his will be an object lesson in reporting and editing, especially high-impact stories on an emotionally charged issue such […]

Rolling Stone backtracks on UVA rape story; friend, police, Attorney General react

As criticism of shortcomings in its reporting of an alleged 2012 gang rape at UVA reached a fever pitch, Rolling Stone magazine’s managing editor today issued a mea culpa, saying the publication now has doubts about the account given by Jackie, the 20-year-old University student whose story launched a firestorm of reaction in Charlottesville and beyond, including a […]

Should schools be required to report rape? Some victim advocates say no

Two weeks after the publication of a Rolling Stone story alleging a brutal rape and a culture of covering up sexual assault at UVA rocked the community, officials are responding to angry calls for action with proposals: State lawmakers are rolling out plans for legislation that would require school administrators to report any evidence of […]