What did Elizabeth Smart say in her testimony against her alleged kidnapper?
Elizabeth Smart, abducted in 2002 in Utah, speaks publicly of her ordeal for the first time Smart, now 21, details nine months of captivity and repeated rapes during testimony in a federal court hearing to determine whether abductor Brian David Mitchell is mentally competent to face trial. Reporting from Salt Lake City – For the first time since her 2002 abduction by a self-proclaimed religious prophet captured worldwide attention, Elizabeth Smart spoke publicly about her ordeal today, testifying in federal court that Brian David Mitchell repeatedly invoked religion to justify sexually abusing her for months. Testifying in a hearing to determine whether Mitchell is mentally competent to face federal kidnapping charges, Smart, now 21, calmly detailed nine months of being shackled and repeatedly raped. “Any time that I showed resistance or hesitation he turned to me and said, ‘The Lord says you have to do this, you have to experience the lowest form of humanity to experience the highest,
Salt Lake City, Oct 1 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Elizabeth Smart testified on Thursday that she was raped daily, without any exception after she was abducted at knife-point from her bedroom when she was fourteen years of age and was told that she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape. She described Brian David Mitchell, her alleged kidnapper, as “evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.” She was testifying in the court proceedings against her kidnapper in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, who had abducted her in 2002. Smart said Mitchell plied her with alcohol and drugs to lower her resistance. “He said that he would kill anybody that would come into the camp, or kill me if I ever tried to escape or yell out,” Smart testified. She told the court that he held her captive with a cable attached to her leg that had a 10-foot reach. Smart said Mitchell was motivated by sex and used religion extensively to get what he wanted, a
Elizabeth Smart testified that she was raped repeatedly each day after she was abducted from her bedroom seven years ago and told she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape. She described Brian David Mitchell, her alleged kidnapper, as “evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.” Smart was poised and composed while testifying for just under two hours. She was 14 when she was abducted from her Salt Lake City home at knife point in the middle of the night. Shortly after her abduction, Smart said Mitchell took her to a mountain camp and performed a ceremony she said was intended to marry the two. She said he held her captive with a cable attached to her leg that had a 10-foot reach. That line was attached to another cable strung between two trees. Smart said Mitchell plied her with alcohol and drugs to lower her resistance. Sources:
