Police have suspended the gang rape investigation involving the University of Virginia. Back in 2014, Rolling Stone Magazine reported that student, “Jackie,” made the accusation that she was gang raped by seven men from that Phi Kappa Psi fraternity on campus. Since then, the report has been discredited and Rolling Stone has since backtracked from their original story because they have found there were flaws with Jackie’s story. Investigations into the story were made to look into the ethics of the journalism. The story wanted to bring forth information about women standing up against those who have sexually assaulted them, however it didn’t work out that way for the magazine. During the investigation the police were unable to uncover any evidence that would back up the claim. The police are not closing the case, just suspending it. They have said that since they could not find substantive evidence they cannot say that nothing happened that night.
During their investigation, the police spoke with 70 people, including Jackie’s friends and members of the frat. No one had any knowledge of the assault that Jackie has said happened Sept. 28, 2012. Also, there was no evidence of a party taking place on Sept. 28, 2012. There was a photo showing that fraternity house was pretty much empty that night. The police are only suspending the case so if some more information or evidence shows up the police will be able to move further in the investigation.
There are no statute of limitations for crimes like these, so the case can be suspended for years and will still be able to further the investigation and maybe a conviction could take place. The police said it would be a “disservice” to Jackie to throw the case away completely. Since they are unsure if anything did happen that night, since they cannot completely prove if anything happened. However, the police were unable to question Jackie because she would not cooperate with the authorities, making it harder to figure out what actually may have happened that night.
Even though there hasn’t been evidence in this case, there are however new policies in place to regulate the fraternity and to prevent any future of such incidents. The university are trying to change the social culture of the campus to ensure the safety of their students. Jackie has remained quiet throughout this entire investigation and her lawyer didn’t want to make a statement or any comments after the suspension of the investigation. Authorities are however looking forward to sharing more light should any new information be found.
Photo: Bloomberg News
