Elizabeth Smart speaks out on release of her ‘dark’ and ‘evil’ kidnapper

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Sixteen years after kidnapping Elizabeth Smart in Utah, Wanda Barzee will be freed from prison — and Ms Smart is speaking out about the horrors she endured during captivity.

Barzee is set to be freed from a Utah prison on Wednesday, after having served concurrent sentences stemming from federal and state convictions. She had previously served a federal sentence in Texas before being sent to the Utah, and will now serve 60 months of federal supervision.

Ms Smart, 30, has spoken out in light of the upcoming release, telling CBS that Barzee had a “dark” and “evil” feeling that radiated from her during her captivity after she was taken by Brian David Mitchell from her home at knifepoint. Mitchell is serving a life sentence for his convictions.

“That first morning when he brought me into the camp and told me I was now his wife and kept telling me it was time to consummate our marriage, I just — at first, I didn't know what he meant,” Ms Smart, who was abducted at the age of 14, told CBS.

“And then I remember having this idea come to my mind of what he could mean,” she continued. “And I remember thinking, ‘There's no way’. … And I was raped. And, I was raped every day after that, multiple times a day”.

Ms Smart — who now advocates on behalf of trafficking and kidnapping victims — told the network that she is wary of Barzee’s release, even though she has been in contact with the federal agent who will be supervising her former captor.

“I don't know all the conditions of her release, but I have been reassured multiple times that she will be kept a very close eye on,” Ms Smart said. “And as soon as she messes up, which I've been reassured that she will, she will be taken back to federal prison for the duration of the five years”.

She continued: “I have been informed on who the agent is, who the federal agent is, who will be supervising her. And I do believe that he will do the job to the best of his ability. I have faith in him. I just lack faith in her”.

Barzee will need to register as a sex offender upon her release, and will be watched by that federal agent to ensure that she complies with terms of her release. Her home will be subject to inspections, and she will be forced to tell officials about her work conditions and other information.

The kidnapper was arrested in March of 2003 after Ms Smart and her captors were recognized in public. She pleaded guilty in federal court in 2009 to one count of kidnapping and one count of enticement of a minor. She was sentenced to 180 months in prison and 60 months of supervised release.

A year later, Barzee pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated kidnapping in Utah, which was a second-degree felony. These charges were related to a plot to kidnap one of Ms Smart’s cousins shortly after the initial abduction. A judge sentenced her to 15 years for that crime, which is the maximum the state of Utah allows for that class of felony.