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American Morning

Talk with 'Central Park Jogger'

Aired July 24, 2003 - 08:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After years of being known only as the Central Park Jogger, Trisha Meili wants her name to stand for something else -- hope and possibilities. In 1989 she was raped and beaten. It took 14 years for Trisha to reveal her identity as a victim. She's written a book called "I Am the Central Park Jogger." She's now married and she is working with groups that help the disabled.
Her story is truly a profile in courage and Trisha Meili joins us this morning.

It's nice to see you.

Thanks for joining us.

TRISHA MEILI, AUTHOR, "I AM THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER": Hi.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Your book was an incredible, as well, and a lot of the story about your recovery was just fascinating to read for anybody who followed the case when it originally happened.

Do you think alleged victims or victims' names should be released to the public?

MEILI: I tell you, for, you know, for me, with my experience, I was so grateful that the press respected my anonymity, because after such a horrendous attack and violation, I had so much taken away from me. I, you know, I couldn't walk. I couldn't talk clearly or think clearly. I couldn't remember how to tell time. And I wanted to at least be able to maintain my privacy. And I needed a place to heal without the sometimes invasive scrutiny of the press.

And so for me, it was very important that I decided when I wanted to tell people, you know, what my history was, which, you know, which was long before I wrote the book, but I did it in small ways and when it felt right to me.

O'BRIEN: We've heard reports from Eagle County that investigators for the defense are now scouring the area, trying to get any snippets of any, you know, following any leads on information on this young woman whose case may -- or claims may or may not be proven true in the end.

How bad will it get, do you think, for this woman?

MEILI: You know, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: How bad did it get for you?

MEILI: It, there was a tremendous amount of scrutiny into my life and, you know, press cars parked out in front of my family's homes.

O'BRIEN: Were you -- why were you out jogging, questions like that, which many people felt were questions that blamed the victim.

MEILI: Right. Right.

O'BRIEN: What were you doing? Were you sexually active? Things -- what were you wearing? Is that, can she expect those kinds of questions, do you think?

MEILI: Well, I think, you know, when I participated in the trials, that was one of the things that I was most nervous about. With defense attorneys who are trying to discredit, you know, they were trying to discredit my reputation, my credibility by bringing forth those kinds of questions that had nothing to do with what happened the evening that I was raped.

O'BRIEN: Why did you decide to come forward 14 years later?

MEILI: It's been a long process and I had thought about it for some time and I just decided that the time was right, that I felt, you know, good enough about myself that I wanted to share my story, to tell other people and, you know, and help them get through whatever the ordeal is that they're trying to get through.

O'BRIEN: Clearly at this stage we don't know very much about what happened between this young woman and Kobe Bryant. But I'm curious to know what would your advice be, as someone who went -- ran through the legal gauntlet of claiming to be a victim of sexual assault and having to sit up there on the stand and have a trial take place in a very public venue? What would your advice be to her and other young women like her?

MEILI: I guess my advice is to, you know, to tell the truth. That's what I did. And I feel good about that.

O'BRIEN: What happens next for you? And, by the way, you look fantastic. I mean you lost so much blood and you had so much incredible damage done to your face and your head.

What are you doing now? Running.

MEILI: A little bit, not excessively, I'm proud to say that. And I'm going out and speaking to, you know, to different groups about the idea that there is hope and possibility, that, yes, you can come back from it...

O'BRIEN: It's a wonderful message, it really.

Trisha Meili, nice to have you. Thank you so much.

MEILI: Thanks, Soledad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 24, 2003 - 08:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After years of being known only as the Central Park Jogger, Trisha Meili wants her name to stand for something else -- hope and possibilities. In 1989 she was raped and beaten. It took 14 years for Trisha to reveal her identity as a victim. She's written a book called "I Am the Central Park Jogger." She's now married and she is working with groups that help the disabled.
Her story is truly a profile in courage and Trisha Meili joins us this morning.

It's nice to see you.

Thanks for joining us.

TRISHA MEILI, AUTHOR, "I AM THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER": Hi.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Your book was an incredible, as well, and a lot of the story about your recovery was just fascinating to read for anybody who followed the case when it originally happened.

Do you think alleged victims or victims' names should be released to the public?

MEILI: I tell you, for, you know, for me, with my experience, I was so grateful that the press respected my anonymity, because after such a horrendous attack and violation, I had so much taken away from me. I, you know, I couldn't walk. I couldn't talk clearly or think clearly. I couldn't remember how to tell time. And I wanted to at least be able to maintain my privacy. And I needed a place to heal without the sometimes invasive scrutiny of the press.

And so for me, it was very important that I decided when I wanted to tell people, you know, what my history was, which, you know, which was long before I wrote the book, but I did it in small ways and when it felt right to me.

O'BRIEN: We've heard reports from Eagle County that investigators for the defense are now scouring the area, trying to get any snippets of any, you know, following any leads on information on this young woman whose case may -- or claims may or may not be proven true in the end.

How bad will it get, do you think, for this woman?

MEILI: You know, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: How bad did it get for you?

MEILI: It, there was a tremendous amount of scrutiny into my life and, you know, press cars parked out in front of my family's homes.

O'BRIEN: Were you -- why were you out jogging, questions like that, which many people felt were questions that blamed the victim.

MEILI: Right. Right.

O'BRIEN: What were you doing? Were you sexually active? Things -- what were you wearing? Is that, can she expect those kinds of questions, do you think?

MEILI: Well, I think, you know, when I participated in the trials, that was one of the things that I was most nervous about. With defense attorneys who are trying to discredit, you know, they were trying to discredit my reputation, my credibility by bringing forth those kinds of questions that had nothing to do with what happened the evening that I was raped.

O'BRIEN: Why did you decide to come forward 14 years later?

MEILI: It's been a long process and I had thought about it for some time and I just decided that the time was right, that I felt, you know, good enough about myself that I wanted to share my story, to tell other people and, you know, and help them get through whatever the ordeal is that they're trying to get through.

O'BRIEN: Clearly at this stage we don't know very much about what happened between this young woman and Kobe Bryant. But I'm curious to know what would your advice be, as someone who went -- ran through the legal gauntlet of claiming to be a victim of sexual assault and having to sit up there on the stand and have a trial take place in a very public venue? What would your advice be to her and other young women like her?

MEILI: I guess my advice is to, you know, to tell the truth. That's what I did. And I feel good about that.

O'BRIEN: What happens next for you? And, by the way, you look fantastic. I mean you lost so much blood and you had so much incredible damage done to your face and your head.

What are you doing now? Running.

MEILI: A little bit, not excessively, I'm proud to say that. And I'm going out and speaking to, you know, to different groups about the idea that there is hope and possibility, that, yes, you can come back from it...

O'BRIEN: It's a wonderful message, it really.

Trisha Meili, nice to have you. Thank you so much.

MEILI: Thanks, Soledad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com