CATHY YOUNG: UVA’s Jackie Made Up Her “Rapist.” Will Fauxminists ‘StandWithJackie’?

In the department of news that will surprise exactly no one, the latest reports from a University of Virginia dean’s lawsuit against Rolling Stone over its 2014 “Rape on Campus” article have revealed new evidence that the story’s main source, Jackie, fabricated not only her brutal frat-house gang rape but the handsome date who set it up, Haven Monahan.

In this latest twist, it appears someone accessed “Haven’s” email account, , from the office of Jackie’s lawyers on March 18.

No need to page Perry Mason: even without this final clue, the case of the fictional gang rape was basically wrapped up by the end of 2014, a few weeks after the Rolling Stone cover story first rocked the nation.

First, press investigations showed that there was no party at the fraternity named by Jackie anywhere near the date she gave; that her account changed (according to friends) from forced oral sex to vaginal rape and from five assailants to seven; and that she had looked uninjured after a violent attack that she claimed left her bruised and bloodied.

Then, it turned out that the alleged rapist, named “Drew” in the Rolling Stone story but known by the Harlequin-romance name Haven Monahan to Jackie’s friends, seemed to be a ghost. There was no one by that name on the UVA campus or anywhere else; “Haven’s” text messages to Jackie’s friends were fake (and came from fake phone numbers registered to texting-via-Internet services), and his photo matched a former high school classmate of Jackie’s who lived outside Virginia. The catfishing scheme was apparently an elaborate play for the affections of Jackie’s friend and fellow student Ryan Duffin, who had previously rebuffed her romantic overtures—and whom she called for help after the alleged rape.

It was enough to make Anna Merlan, a writer for the feminist website Jezebel.com, apologize to blogger Richard Bradley and Reason writer Robby Soave for calling them idiots after they publicly wondered if the UVA gang rape story was a hoax. But not enough for either feminists or the mainstream media to call a fake a fake, instead of politely referring to “discrepancies” in Jackie’s story and piously intoning that traumatic memories can be unreliable.

In March 2015, when the Charlottesville Police Department released the results of its investigation into Jackie’s alleged assault—which found “no substantive basis” for her claims and explicitly disproved many of them—CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin repeatedly emphasized that “we have to be very careful” not to call Jackie a liar. Asserting that only two percent of rape reports are false according to the FBI, Hostin concluded, “The suggestion that she just sort of made this entire thing up flies in the face of statistics.”

Apart from the bizarre logic—a two-percent chance is hardly the same as “never happens”—this analysis was flawed in more ways than one can count. FBI statistics actually show that around 9 percent of rape reports are classified as “unfounded” by local law enforcement; however, it is nearly impossible to obtain a reliable estimate of false reports. Some “unfounded” complaints are mislabeled as false; on the other hand, some unresolved cases and even some rape convictions involve false allegations. What’s more, false report statistics track only formal complaints made to the police or to college officials; Jackie never filed such a complaint.

CNN wasn’t the only media outlet dancing around the facts. The New York Times story never mentioned the evidence that “Haven Monahan” was fabricated, stating only that “the police were unable to track Mr. Monahan down.” (They were also unable to interview Santa Claus.) . . .

By the way, the judge in the Rolling Stone case ruled that Jackie’s records must be turned over to Eramo and her attorneys, obviously disagreeing with NOW. According to The Washington Post, Jackie’s lawyers have claimed that their client was “not in possession” of “Haven Monahan’s” correspondence and was not withholding any documents. But it turns out that just four days before that letter was sent, someone using the law firm’s network logged into “Haven Monahan’s” email account.

You have to wonder what the people who still “stand with Jackie” will make of the news. Maybe the dastardly Haven broke into the law firm’s office or hacked the server. Or we could always go with the “shape-shifting alien” theory.

It’s important for SJW types to feel good about themselves. Any damage done along the way is acceptable.