Elizabeth Smart, who was 14 years old when she was snatched from her home and raped repeatedly, revealed that she was sexually assaulted while asleep on a plane.
The incident took place last year, while flying into Salt Lake City on a Delta flight, Smart revealed to Gayle King in an interview on "CBS This Morning" that aired Thursday.
"I had been asleep and all of a sudden, I woke up because I felt someone's hand rubbing in between my legs, on my inner thigh," she said, according to The U.S. Sun. "I was shocked. I mean, the last time someone touched me without my say so was when I was kidnapped."
Smart was kidnapped at knifepoint out of her family's Salt Lake City home on June 5, 2002. She was held captive for nine months by Brian David Mitchell, who repeatedly raped her until she was finally rescued. The ordeal made national headlines.
Mitchell was found guilty on several charges and is serving life in prison. His wife and accomplice Wanda Barzee was imprisoned for 15 years in 2009 but was released in 2018.
Smart, now a married mother and activist for victims' rights, told King she did not know how to react to being assaulted on the plane.
"I froze and I didn't know what to do. And I speak to other women about it and say that it's OK to say no! And it's OK to take care of yourself and be safe," she said. "I told myself: 'You're Elizabeth Smart, you know what to do!'"
Smart said she jerked away from the man, expecting him to move his hand and apologize, but he didn't. Infuriated, she reported the assault to the airline because she did not want him "preying on other girls."
"I mean, it's not Delta's fault," she continued. "It was this man."
Smart's next reaction was to reach out to her husband.
"I called my husband and I said, 'Do I have a big badge on my forehead that says easy prey or victim? Because I am sick of it!'" she said.
After the assault, Smart could not sit idle, so she began training in self-defense and then started a program to train other women and girls. She is determined not to allow these circumstances to intimidate her.
"I lived in absolute fear and terror for nine months," she previously wrote in a post to Instagram. "I will not do so again."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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