The Facts:  It was June 5, 2002 when a man with a knife entered the bedroom of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart and her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine. The man forced Elizabeth to leave her house and walk into the woods four miles behind her Salt Lake City home. The man led her to a secluded campsite and she was never seen again until 9-months later. The authorities charged Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, with kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. In November 2009, Barzee pleaded guilty, in federal court, to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in relation to Elizabeth Smart’s abduction. Her plea deal is contingent on her continued cooperation in the criminal proceedings against her husband Mitchell.

The Law: Under Utah’s criminal law, a person commits aggravated sexual assault if: in the course of a rape, object rape, forcible sodomy, or forcible sexual abuse, the actor: …compels, or attempts to compel, the victim to submit to rape, object rape, forcible sodomy, or forcible sexual abuse, by threat of kidnapping, death, or serious bodily injury to be inflicted imminently on any person.

A person commits kidnapping if that person intentionally or knowingly, without authority of law, and against the will of the victim: … detains or restrains a minor without the consent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian … if the minor is 14 years of age or older but younger than 18 years of age …

The Takeaway: Elizabeth Smart’s perpetrator was not a stranger to the Smart family. Mitchell used to do contract work on the family’s home. While there, he probably got to know the house really well and that’s how he was able to abduct Elizabeth from her bedroom. Most crimes against another person are almost always committed against a “known” victim. That means that the victim will almost always know or have seen his or her perpetrator before that person becomes a victim. This goes to show you that, you really have to pay attention to a person’s behaviors when you don’t know that person very well. Plus, trust your gut feeling (some refer to this as a psychic-like sixth sense). If do not feel comfortable or have funny feelings when you’re around a person, listen to yourself. Many victims of crime who knew their perpetrators will often state that “I had a funny feeling when….” or “I felt something was weird when ….” Fail to act on your hunches, and it could be too late. Elizabeth and her family were very fortunate because they found her alive. But there are so many who do not make it back home. Listen to your gut and that inner voice. Use your sixth-sense- it’s there for a reason!