The Daily Progress, Ryan M. Kelly/AP
In a news conference on Monday, the Charlottesville Police Department announced it would suspend an investigation into the University of Virginia rape allegations first detailed in an explosive Rolling Stone article published last November. The police said they found “no evidence” supporting the claims of the student Rolling Stone identified as Jackie.
“I can’t prove that something didn’t happen, and there may come a point in time in which this survivor, or this complaining party or someone else, may come forward with some information that might help us move this investigation further,” Police Chief Tim Longo told reporters. He also stressed the inquiry was not permanently closed.
According to Longo, Jackie did not cooperate with police officials, who conducted nearly 70 interviews, including speaking with Jackie’s friends and members of UVA’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Jackie alleged her 2012 rape occurred in Phi Kappa Psi’s fraternity house.
The results of the investigation follow a turbulent four months for the magazine, after news outlets such as Slate and the Washington Post unearthed major errors compromising Rolling Stone‘s story. The magazine acknowledged the discrepancies, saying it had “misplaced its trust” in Jackie.
The story, however, fueled a national conversation over campus sexual assault. An independent investigation led by Columbia University’s School of Journalism is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
