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OPRAH TALKS TO THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER 
Thirteen years ago this month, a young woman was left for dead in New York's Central Park by a pack of "wilding"
boys. Here, for the first time, she breaks her silence, telling us what she remembers (flowers from Frank Sinatra), what she wants (an
apology), and what amazes her (the strength and wisdom of the body).
On April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old investment banker left her office for a jog through Central Park. Before she headed out, she invited a co-worker to drop by her apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side later that night. "I'm going for a run," she told him. "I'll be back by ten." But when he arrived, she wasn't home—nor would she come home for months. Just before ten that night, as she was passing through a remote section of the park, she was brutally assaulted. A pack of at least six teenage boys raped her, beat her unconscious, dragged her body to a ravine, and pummeled her with rocks and pipes. At 1:30 in the morning, two passersby found her with her mouth gagged, her hands tethered with a long-sleeve shirt, and wearing only a bra. Her body temperature had plummeted to about 80 degrees, and she had lost nearly three quarters of her blood. Within days, the case of the Central Park jogger (the media generally withholds the names of rape victims) had ignited a fiery racial controversy. The six boys who were indicted for rape, assault, and attempted murder were minorities, while the jogger was Caucasian. Five of them were under age 16, and all were from middle-class families and had no previous police records. The boys who were under 16 were sentenced to five to ten years in jail, the maximum for juveniles, while the sole defendant who was over 16 received 5 to 15 years. But since none of the DNA evidence placed the teenagers at the crime scene, some people believed the victim's then-boyfriend was responsible. Both sides saw the attack as a symbol of the violence and racial tension that pervaded New York City. As the jogger lay in a coma for 12 days, barely hanging on to life, the world followed the headlines charting her prognosis, and people around the country joined in prayer. But four months after receiving last rites, she was actually running again. And although her head injuries left her with no memory of the attack, she decided she had to face the defendants in court. "I didn't want her to go through anything more," says Elizabeth Lederer, the prosecutor who handled the case, who confirms that all six have completed their sentences and have been released from prison. "But I felt it was important for the jury to hear from her about the injuries she'd suffered. She made me appreciate the power of survival and the belief and hope of recovery. She's a very determined woman." In 1995, the jogger marked her ultimate triumph by running in the New York City Marathon. Now 41, she lives in a suburb of Connecticut and works for a nonprofit organization; she has been married for five years, with no children. On the day we met, the only visible sign of her ordeal was a jagged scar near her eye. First she jogged with me near the site where she had been left for dead. Then she broke her long-standing silence with the media and told me her story. 
Read an excerpt from Oprah's conversation with the Central Park Jogger.
Do you remember hearing about the Central Park Jogger? How did it change your life?
Have you missed an Oprah's Cut? Listen in on other interviews with Nelson Mandela, Quincy Jones, Madeleine Albright, and more remarkable people.
For the complete conversation, pick up the April 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Subscribe now!
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