This story will be studied by students of law and journalism for years.

Ashe Schow reports at the Washington Examiner.

Woman who introduced Rolling Stone to Jackie leaves UVA

Emily Renda, the sexual assault activist who introduced Rolling Stone to “Jackie,” a woman who lied about being gang-raped, has left the University of Virginia.

Her reason for leaving is the fallout from the now-discredited Rolling Stone article. The unraveling of the article, coupled with the attacks on Renda in the media, have led to a year of “all hell and hopelessness.” Renda has decided to go to law school far away from U.Va., and told Vanity Fair that she has abandoned her work with sexual assault survivors.

“I don’t want to say it’s been the worst year of my life, but it has been the worst year of my life,” Renda said.

Renda met Jackie in the spring of 2014, while working as an activist. Jackie told Renda her story of being gang-raped by fraternity members at a party (parts of this story appeared differently in the story Jackie told Rolling Stone). Renda would later share Jackie’s story during testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, omitting Jackie’s name.

Renda graduated from U.Va. in the spring of 2014, and was about to begin a job with the university as the project coordinator for sexual-misconduct prevention. She received a phone call from Rolling Stone writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely, who was looking for an example of “rape culture” at a major university.

Renda provided Jackie’s name as one of five women who had made sexual assault accusations. Erdely settled on Jackie’s story because it was the most sensational.