Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: Lara Logan Describes Brutal Sexual Assault, "I'm So Much Stronger" Now
By
Jen Chung
Published May 2, 2011
Modified May 2, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 2, 2011
Modified May 2, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
CBS News correspondent Lara Logan's interview about her terrifying sexual assault in Cairo aired on 60 Minutes last night (see it below). Besides having her clothes torn to shreds and feeling "hands raping me over and over," Logan said they were pulling out her hair, "holding big wads of it, literally trying to tear my scalp off my skull. And I thought, when I thought I am going to die here, my next thought was I can't believe I just let them kill me, that that was as much fight as I had. That I just gave in and I gave up on my children so easily, how could you do that?"
Logan had been reporting from Tahrir Square on Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak's February resignation. Her young children, ages one and two, were her inspiration to pull through, "I had to fight for them. And that's when I said, 'Okay, it's about staying alive now. I have to just surrender to the sexual assault. What more can they do now? They're inside you everywhere." So the only thing to fight for, left to fight for, was my life."
The segment is pretty harrowing: Logan described losing contact with the bodyguard, Ray, and others in her crew, "I have one arm on Ray. I've lost the fixer, I've lost the drivers. I've lost everybody except him. And I feel them tearing at my clothing. I think my shirt, my sweater was torn off completely. My shirt was around my neck. I felt the moment that my bra tore. They tore the metal clips of my bra. They tore those open. And I felt that because the air, I felt the air on my chest, on my skin. And I felt them tear out, they literally just tore my pants to shreds. And then I felt my underwear go. And I remember looking up, when my clothes gave way, I remember looking up and seeing them taking pictures with their cell phones, the flashes of their cell phone cameras." She was rescued by a group of women and soldiers.
After the assault, Logan called her husband—she thought was explaining what happened clearly, but her husband only heard her hysterically screaming. She was flown back to the United States and was admitted to a hospital for four days. Logan said that nurse, who specialized in dealing with victims of sexual violence, was folding up her clothes for evidence and said, "Oh my God" when she saw Logan's tattered pants.
Logan, who says she doesn't want the attack to define her, said the kind words of colleagues and strangers has helped heal her— "I'm so much stronger" now—and added that she's speaking out to tell people that this kind of horror happens to women "and it's wrong."
Tagged
attack
cairo
cbs news
egypt
lara logan
rape
sexual assault
video
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
The Bridge to Home program, which began last year, will officially expand to Brooklyn on Tuesday.
By
Karen Yi
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
Because he doesn't need that many bikes, here are your early links: NYC Ferry fares could be going up, Hell's Kitchen climbing gym closing, Jalen Brunson just wasn't that funny on SNL and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
Because he doesn't need that many bikes, here are your early links: NYC Ferry fares could be going up, Hell's Kitchen climbing gym closing, Jalen Brunson just wasn't that funny on SNL and more.
By
James Ramsay
Man dragged to death by Subway in Brooklyn after getting caught on closing doors
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Upper East Side braces for affordable housing fast track, and backlash from residents
By
David Brand
Plan to modernize NYC's diesel-spewing produce market falls apart under Mamdani
By
Elizabeth Kim
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .