Connie Chung to Ford: My sexual assault is ‘seared into my memory forever’

Journalist Connie Chung on Wednesday revealed in an open letter to Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to accuse Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, that she was sexually assaulted by a family doctor when she was in college.

In the letter, published in The Washington Post on Wednesday, Chung writes that she kept her assault a secret for five decades.

“Dear Christine Blasey Ford, I, too, was sexually assaulted — not 36 years ago but about 50 years ago. I have kept my dirty little secret to myself. Silence for five decades,” she wrote. “The molester was our trusted family doctor. What made this monster even more reprehensible was that he was the very doctor who delivered me on Aug. 20, 1946. I’m 72 now.”

{mosads}Ford has said that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a high school party 36 years ago.

Ford described the alleged assault during testimony last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford, in her testimony, said she couldn’t remember everything about the night of her assault, but said that she was “100 percent” sure it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her. 

Chung wrote in her letter that, like Ford, she can’t remember everything related to her assault.

“The exact date and year are fuzzy. But details of the event are vivid — forever seared in my memory,” she wrote.

Chung went on to say that her doctor had her remove her clothes below the waist, spread her legs and dig her heels into “cold iron stirrups,” noting that she had never had a gynecological examination.

Chung wrote that the doctor touched her inappropriately, causing her to have her first orgasm before kissing her and disappearing behind a curtain to his office.

“I don’t remember saying anything to him. I could not even look at him. I quickly dressed and drove home,” she continued.

Chung wrote that she “certainly did not” tell her parents and didn’t report the doctor to authorities. She said she told her husband, but doesn’t remember exactly when. 

“At the time, I think I may have told one of my sisters. I certainly did not tell my parents. I did not report him to authorities. It never crossed my mind to protect other women,” she added. “Please understand, I was actually embarrassed about my sexual naivete. I was in my 20s and knew nothing about sex. All I wanted to do was bury the incident in my mind and protect my family.”

Chung wrote that she was “terrified,” echoing Ford who said Thursday that she was terrified to testify before the Senate panel and a national audience.

“Christine, I, too, am terrified as I reveal this publicly. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Can you? If you can’t, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can’t even cry,” Chung wrote. “I wish I could forget this truthful event, but I cannot because it is the truth. I am writing to you because I know that exact dates, exact years are insignificant. We remember exactly what happened to us and who did it to us. We remember the truth forever. Bravo, Christine, for telling the truth.”