Elizabeth Smart story comes to a close as justice is served

Elizabeth Smart Glad To Finally Move On

Elizabeth Smart can finally end a dark chapter in her young life with the sentencing of her abductor on Wednesday.

Brian David Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for abducting, raping and holding her hostage for nine months in 2002.

Elizabeth Smart was only 14 years old when Mitchell took her at knifepoint on June 5, 2002. She later escaped and was found nine months later not far from her home.

Smart testified in court that Mitchell raped her daily during her nine-month ordeal. Last December, a jury found the homeless street preacher guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball then sentenced Mitchell to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The frail, bearded Mitchell was singing softly the whole time he was in the courtroom. When Kimball asked him if he wanted to say anything, Mitchell just kept on singing.

Elizabeth Smart bravely looked at Mitchell and said, "I know that you know that what you did was wrong. You did it with full knowledge...but I have a wonderful life now and no matter what you do, you will never affect me again."

The high-profile case took almost a decade to get resolved but Smart, prosecutors and law enforcement officers involved in the case said that justice has finally been served.

Elizabeth Smart is now a college student and an activist for victims of heinous crimes and missing children. Outside the court in Salt Lake City, a smiling Smart said Mitchell's sentencing "is the ending of a very long chapter and the beginning of a very beautiful chapter for me."

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday May 26 2011, 5:30 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0