Jaycee Dugard Tells Of 18-Year Kidnap Ordeal

An American woman who spent more than 18 years in captivity after being kidnapped as a schoolgirl has described her ordeal in her first TV interview.

Jaycee Dugard was abducted outside her home in California in 1991 aged 11 and gave birth to two children, fathered by her kidnapper.

She was imprisoned by Phillip Garrido in a compound in his back garden and subjected to repeated sexual assaults.

Miss Dugard described how she gave birth to her first daughter aged just 14, which she said gave her hope.

"She was beautiful. I felt like I wasn't alone anymore," Miss Dugard said.

"(I) had somebody else who was mine and I wasn't alone and I knew I could never let anything happen to her."

In the interview with ABC News, Miss Dugard said she tried to educate her daughters with what she knew from her own limited schooling.

She also described Garrido's repeated drug use and threatening behaviour, admitting she did not know how she coped with her ordeal.

"I mean, I can't imagine being beaten to death, you know? And you can't imagine being kidnapped and raped, you know? So, it's just, you just do what you have to do to survive," Miss Dugard said.

She was rescued in August 2009 when Garrido, who had a previous conviction for rape, took her and her daughters to a parole meeting, raising suspicions among officers.

Garrido was jailed for 431 years and his wife Nancy was given a life sentence after being convicted of kidnap, rape and false imprisonment.

Miss Dugard said she had to watch video of her abuse, filmed by Garrido, in order to ensure she was his only victim.

Miss Dugard has written a book about her ordeal, which she says helped her come to terms with what happened:

"Why not look at it? You know, stare it down until it can't scare you anymore," she said.