Posted on 01/12/2016 8:46:39 AM PST by outpostinmass2
In the 14 months since her story shocked the world, Jackie has been at the heart of a national debate about sexual assaults on college campuses, has become embroiled in a media scandal, and is the central figure in a series of defamation lawsuits.
Yet there’s one important fact missing about Jackie, the young woman who concocted a harrowing story about a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity: her full name.
News organizations have declined to reveal Jackie’s full identity since her now-discredited story appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in November 2014. Her single-name identity — just Jackie — is in keeping with a long-standing journalistic convention against identifying alleged victims of sexual crimes to protect the accuser’s privacy.
As a result, news accounts of rape or sex-related crimes almost never name an accuser without their explicit permission, making it the only class of crime involving adults in which this practice is observed.
But that standard arguably doesn’t apply in Jackie’s case. Her story has been shown repeatedly to be false, both through news reporting and an extensive police investigation. Rolling Stone has withdrawn the article, “A Rape on Campus,†and apologized to its readers for publishing an account that a Columbia Journalism School report called “a story of journalistic failure.â€
Even so, Jackie has remained nearly anonymous. No mainstream media outlet has reported Jackie’s full name. Investigators for the Charlottesville police, who found no evidence to support Jackie’s story, haven’t revealed it, either. Her identity has also been redacted in documents by a court hearing one of the lawsuits against Rolling Stone.
While it’s debatable whether knowing Jackie’s full name would serve much public purpose, the collective reticence to identify her plays into an underlying discussion about the media’s responsibility in identifying accusers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The truth doesn’t matter. What matters is the seriousness of the charges.
True enough.
The COLOR of the attacker means something too. Perhaps THAT is why we aren't getting any more facts.
Am I being cynical?
Lots of incentive to make a false charge of rape, because there is zero disincentive not to.
No prison. No charges. Don’t have to see a doctor. Won’t have to reveal your name. Universities have eliminated due process, but will heap support on anyone claiming to be a victim.
So have at it girls.
Don’t like fraternities? Rape!
That guy won’t ask you out? Rape!
That TEA party protestor? Rape!
The person being protected in this story is ‘Jackie’s’ father, IMO.
Maybe because she doesn’t exist?
Unbelievable.
“false” is a difficult word. The story was actually “fake but accurate”.
I thought she dropped out years ago?
Her identity has already been made public. Not by the MSM, but by Charles C. Johnson of gotnews.com.
Her real name is “Jacqueline Coakley”.
You have that right.
In a just world, the DoJ Civil Rights divisions would be investigating university campuses for their civil rights violations.
It is a crime under Virginia law to falsely accuse some of rape.
§ 18.2-209. False publications. Any person who knowingly and willfully states, delivers or transmits by any means whatever to any publisher, or employee of a publisher, of any newspaper, magazine, or other publication or to any owner, or employee of an owner, of any radio station, television station, news service or cable service, any false and untrue statement, knowing the same to be false or untrue, concerning any person or corporation, with intent that the same shall be published, broadcast or otherwise disseminated, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
A Class 3 misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $500, but no jail time.
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