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Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapper Living Near Elementary School

Wanda Barzee was released from prison five years early.

The woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart is now living near a Salt Lake City elementary school following her early release from prison in September, according to Utah’s sex-offender registry. Wanda Barzee was hit with a 15-year prison sentence in 2010 after she pleaded guilty to helping her husband, Brian David Mitchell, who abducted Smart at knifepoint in 2002 when she was 14 and repeatedly raped her. Barzee was released from prison five years earlier than expected, despite her refusal to cooperate with mental health professionals while incarcerated. Barzee is serving five years of federal supervised release, but the release guidelines don’t set limits on how close she can live to a school. Smart was held captive for nine months before she was found and rescued. In a statement, Smart called Barzee's release “incomprehensible” and said people with a history of child abuse and sexual violence such as Barzee shouldn’t be allowed to live close to schools.

‘INCOMPREHENSIBLE’

Elizabeth Smart Reacts to Kidnapper’s Early Release

Pilar Melendez