Wedding joy for US kidnap victim
Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at knifepoint at the age of 14, has married in Hawaii(AP)
Elizabeth Smart, the young woman from Utah who was kidnapped at knifepoint at 14 and held captive for nine months by an itinerant street preacher, has married her Scottish fiance at a Mormon temple in Hawaii.
The wedding came several months ahead of scheduled plans for the nuptials after news of her engagement last month drew widespread media attention. A family spokesman said Smart married Matthew Gilmour, of Aberdeen, Scotland, on Oahu's North Shore.
"Elizabeth's desire was for what most women want - to celebrate her nuptials in a private wedding with family and close friends," family spokesman Chris Thomas said in a statement. "She decided, about a week ago, the best way to avoid significant distraction was to change her wedding plans and to get married in an unscheduled ceremony outside of Utah."
Ms Smart, 24, is in her last year at Brigham Young University. She met Gilmour while doing Mormon missionary work in Paris.
The couple wed at the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in front of a small group of family members, Thomas said. The group then celebrated at a private reception and luau.
Ms Smart and Mr Gilmour got engaged last month and initially made plans to wed this summer. "The bride and groom were beaming as they left the LDS Temple," he added, noting the couple planned to go on an extended honeymoon in an undisclosed location.
"We're just thrilled that she's married," her father, Ed Smart, told The Salt Lake Tribune, calling the ceremony a "kind of a spur of a moment thing".
One-time itinerant street preacher Brian David Mitchell was convicted in 2010 of the 2002 kidnapping and sexual assault. He is serving a life prison sentence.
Ms Smart's disappearance led to a massive search across Utah. She testified during Mitchell's five-week trial, calling her kidnapping "nine months of hell".
Ms Smart said that within hours of the kidnapping she was forced into a polygamous marriage with Mitchell and raped. She said she endured daily rapes, lived homeless and was forced to use drugs and alcohol.
Press Association
