University of Virginia. (Via Shutterstock)

A jury found Rolling Stone magazine, its publisher, and the reporter of a now discredited story about rape at the University of Virginia liable for defamation in a $7.5 million lawsuit.

The 9,000-word article by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, published in November of 2014, centered on the story of a fraternity gang rape as told by a student identified only as Jackie. Following several articles highlighting discrepancies, Rolling Stone issued a note to readers, retracted the story, and launched an investigation into what went wrong in the editorial process.

Nicole Eramo, a former U-Va. dean, filed a lawsuit soon after arguing the story portrayed her as indifferent and unfeeling to Jackie’s allegations. One of her lawyers called Eramo “collateral damage in a quest for sensational journalism,” according to The Washington Post.

Lawyers for Rolling Stone acknowledged serious mistakes in the reporting, but argued they had not acted with “actual malice,” the standard for a defamation case involving a public figure.

The jury heard from Erdely and Jackie (via video testimony), as well as Eramo. They deliberated for three days before returning the verdict

In a statement, Rolling Stone wrote: “In our desire to present this complicated issue from the perspective of a survivor, we overlooked reporting paths and made journalistic mistakes that we are committed to never making again. We deeply regret these missteps and sincerely apologize to anyone hurt by them, including Ms. Eramo.”

According to The Post:

“The case continues this week as the jury will consider damages and hear additional evidence from Eramo and her lawyers about how she was affected by the actions of Rolling Stone. Eramo originally asked for $7.5 million but can ask for a different sum after the verdict.”