Photo: AP

A woman who told a Rolling Stone reporter she’d been gang raped at a frat party at the University of Virginia, only to see the story fall apart after publication, will be compelled to testify this week as part of a lawsuit filed against the magazine.

The 2014 article, “A Rape on Campus” was authored by the award-winning freelance journalist Sabrina Erdely and appeared in the November 19 issue of Rolling Stone. At first glance, it appeared to document the horrifying story of a student who was gang raped on campus by a group of fraternity brothers who were never brought to justice. But the story quickly fell apart.

The woman, who was identified in the article only by the name “Jackie,” has so far resisted publicly speaking about the allegations, which were later discredited by her friends, who say they think she made the whole thing up to get attention from a student she had a crush on. Police say they found no evidence the attack ever occurred, and a 12,000-word Columbia School of Journalism report revealed editorial mistakes so sweeping that the magazine was forced to issue a retraction.

Now, thanks to a lawsuit filed by Nicole Eramo, a University of Virginia administrator mentioned in the article, “Jackie” will have to testify, under oath, in a deposition Thursday. Her lawyers originally sought to exclude her from testifying, arguing it would be too traumatic for her to revisit the attack. But her testimony, at least for now, will stay private—the judge on the case reportedly ordered all records and transcripts sealed.