harlottesville police have found no evidence to support the alleged gang rape by a UVa fraternity in September 2012.
The Charlottesville Police Department held a press conference at 2:00 PM on Monday to discuss the allegations, which were reported during the fall of 2014 in an article published by Rolling Stone magazine.
Police Chief Tim Longo led the conference and was joined by Captain Gary Pleasants and Detective Sergeant D.J. Harris, who were also active in the investigation.
Longo addressed the allegations against Phi Kapppa Psi, the accused fraternity, as well as the discrepancies in Jackie’s initial report to U.Va Dean Eramo. U.Va administration asked the Charlottesville Police to further investigate the details mentioned in the Rolling Stone Article.
Longo shared that the police department, “[has] no evidence to support the assertions made in the article.” The case has thus been suspended, but he emphasized that it has not been closed.
He stated that the the case’s suspension, “doesn’t mean that something terrible did not happen to Jackie on the evening of September 28, 2012,” but that the police department, “[hasn’t been] able to gather sufficient facts.” He asks that anyone with information regarding Jackie’s case to please come forward.
Jackie’s description of her injuries were not consistent with her phone records nor her roommate’s recollection of the incident, explained Longo. When asked for further details, both Jackie as well as her lawyer failed to cooperate with detectives. Phi Kappa Psi cooperated with investigators, however could not provide any information about Jackie or the alleged incident. After interviewing nine of the eleven Phi Psi brothers who were residents in September of 2012, the police found that no one had any knowledge of a sexual assault, nor knew who Jackie was.
During the investigation, police officers contacted two of Jackie’s friends. They shared the alleged attacker’s name – Haven Monahan – but police were unable to match this name with anyone at University of Virginia. Additionally, the friends claim that they met Jackie after the alleged incident outside of Fitzhugh dorm, and do not recall any physical injuries. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone had claimed that Jackie appeared “mute in her bloody dress, wishing only to go back to her dorm room.”
Further investigation showed no evidence indicative of a party at the Phi Kappa Psi house on the night of September 28, 2012. The police department also observed a time-stamped photograph of the main room of the Phi Kappa Psi house. The photograph is inconsistent with the large group of people that was described in the Rolling Stone article.
Rolling Stone issued an apology on December 5th, admitting there were ‘discrepancies’ in their account.
Author: Eliza Costas. Mekenzye Schwab contributed to this article.
