CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - A federal jury has awarded $3 million to a University of Virginia administrator who they concluded was defamed by a now-discredited Rolling Stone magazine article about a gang rape at a fraternity house.
Nicole Eramo claimed the 2014 article "A Rape on Campus" portrayed her as a villain who sought only to protect the university. Eramo had sued for $7.5 million.
The jury concluded Friday that the magazine, its publisher and journalist Sabrina Rubin Erdely were responsible for libel, with actual malice.
Eramo testified Monday that she was distraught by the article in the days after its publication and "just wanted to disappear." Rolling Stone's attorneys sought to show jurors that her reputation was not badly damaged by the piece.
This story has been corrected in the headline to show that Nicole Eramo is now an administrator, not a dean.
