Posted on 01/19/2007 11:39:44 AM PST by Halls
Shawn Hornbeck's parents say they may never know the full story as to why their son Shawn never attempted to contact them or to escape during the more than four years he lived with the man police say abducted him in 2002. But they said comments by Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly that the boy may have enjoyed living with Michael Devlin more than his family had infuriated the couple.
Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers, said in an interview with TIME late Thursday evening. "Our son was 11 when he was abducted. A child that age can be mentally manipulated in a very short time. Hearing him say what he said absolutely infuriates me. I can hardly even express how mad it makes me to hear that."
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Good observation, and probably a correct one.
To keats5 I Appreciated Your Link On Ronald Regan's Son & His Support For Shawn & Shawn's Family ......
BELOW Is To the ACLU Freepers Blaming Shawn & Shawn's Family !!!
SO Do You Also Blame Ronald Reagan ( The Greatest President Ever )
You SURE Love to BLAME Shawn & His Family !!!
Well Ronald Regan's son was also sexually molested & HE SUPPORTS Shawn & Family
I WOULDN'T BE Surprised that when Some ACLU Freepers Read About Ronald Regan's Son Molestation That THEY'LL Start Blaming Ronald Reagan For It !
So go start posting on the DUMMIE Board Where You Belong !
The ACLU LOVING FREEPERS Sure Wanted To Complain About Shawn & His Family
THE ACLU LOVING FREEPERS Are ALSO SILENT About That 300 Pound KIDDIE PORN Found On His Computer Kidnapper THAT Skumbag Devlin !
Ironic, now that Shawn is free, some of the reaction is probably not much different than what the perp told him it would be.
i live in a wonderful safe world and don't know anyone personally who has been abused and it is not remotely difficult for me to empathize with this kid. there is something wrong with those that can't.
The reason why the parents chose Oprah was because she has the biggest audience. The parents wanted to get the message of hope out to those with missing children. They were offered payment but they refused it. I know most freepers hate Oprah but give it a break. It was their choice and their right. Cut them some slack already. They have dedicated the last 4 yrs to helping others. I would like to see an outcry or the perp who kidnapped 2 children against their will and possibly even more children
Oprah does not need ratings. The parents chose Oprah....as reasons stated already.
Your post just made my blood run cold. I think you are so right.
The questions are valid, and they're also pretty easily answered. Pedophiles -- at least the ones who don't get caught early and often -- are shrewd and manipulative. They have a doctoral-level, instinctive rather than scholarly, understanding of child psychology.
They know how to use terror, sympathy, affection, shame and dependency alternately to beat a child's mind into the shape they want it to be. "Stockholm syndrome" is a start, but it's far too glib, and besides the Stockholm hostages were all adults when their ordeal began. A child's mind is much more malleable. Someone who's a victim long enough forgets that there's anything else -- pain gives way to numbness.
Just to be clear, what follows is speculation. If Shawn was abducted at age 11, and the other boy was also abducted at 11, it seems likely that Devlin has a favored "type." When Shawn got too old for him, he tried to use Shawn to recruit another boy. That is not unusual behavior for pedophiles. It is also not uncommon for a victim to break out of his brainwashing when he's asked to become an accomplice.
I don't know the particular dynamics of what happened to Shawn during his captivity, and I don't want to know. That's for him to discuss with his pshrinks. I hope, though I'm not hugely optimistic, that he can recover -- some of the years when the boy was molded into the man he will be were spent in one of the most f-ed up environments imaginable. Other folks have mentioned Stephen Stayner, whose story illustrates what a hard road it is back from there.
It is tempting to ask why he didn't use the phone, or e-mail, or smoke signals or carrier pigeons to call for help. It's tempting to imagine what you would do in that situation, but it's worth resisting the temptation for one important reason -- you're not eleven.
I'd like to think that if I were captive for a year, or two, three or four, or ten, or twenty, I would never give up on getting word out and getting away. But that's a personality i developed in the loving arms of my family. Shawn's childhood was constructed of a whole 'nother set of building blocks.
You could also ask why many dogs don't leave the yard when they're not on a leash or many horses don't leave the paddock when the gate is open. Devlin and bastards like him don't use dank cells or physical restraints, because they don't have to. They shackle the will first.
she is exactly right, isn't she! So sad!
He actually said that, how disappointing.
I do think the parents should back off the interviews for Shawn's sake. He needs to slide quietly back into his life. Having said that though, I should not judge, 'cause I have no idea how I would handle the situation.
I had someone just this morning say that no one knows for sure he was kidnapped and something fishy about not calling home. He said Shawn could have been a run away. I have never wanted to smack someone so bad.
Many adult women stay in relationships that are life threatening. They know the fear of what an obessed person can do. If an adult can't leave out of fear, how can one expect a 11 year old child to try and leave. By the time the child is 15 he has completely been under the control of the kidnapper.
When you have seen what someone is capable of, you probably are going to believe them if they threaten to kill you and all you love.
People like that are very manipulative and are very good at playing the control game. I used to know a woman like that and she scared me.
Lastly though, I get so frustrated at the people who just can't seem to help themselves, from turning something so wonderful into something horrid. Once again, the victim is made out to be baaaaaaaddddddd. Can people not just rejoice and be happy for this child and the family, without trying to find fault somehow. Must be horrible living a life that everything has to have evil in it.
I am just still celebrating the return of these two young people. The bench with Shawn's picture at Schnuck's now says "Found Alive" That is good enough for me. Praise God
How kind and sweet of the perp.
I love the way he goes after judges who let child molesters walk, but he is normally just too full of himself.
Spouting is dangerous. I recall that he blamed the WWII Malmedy masacre on the US when we were the victims. As far as I know, he never retracted his error, never apologized.
I think of him as a loud, conservative liberal.
really??? Because Shawn had one of those piercings in his ear before he was kidnapped. So, you think that is unusual? It isn't to me. Many kids these days have piercings, long hair, etc... Shawn may have been doing more piercings more as a way to cope in his situation, but just having piercings does not say something is wrong with this kid. That is just rediculous!
"Ironic, now that Shawn is free, some of the reaction is probably not much different than what the perp told him it would be."
Wow. So true.
Oh my gosh--you can't not be serious--Once again, can't you just rejoice that a child has been found. He already has had evil in his life, now people want to make him a bad person also.
This is so sick. This poor child has so much to get through in life. A normal family life was taken from him-4 years of schooling he will have to catch on--getting to life a normal life again--AND on top of that, people like you portraying him as a kidnapper and such.
How sad for you that you just can't take this as a joyful occasion. Do you have to see evil in all things or just kidnapped child?
What do you think you would do as a 11 yrs old boy being told not only you would be killed but the family you loved also. Think about it. This man had 4 years to work his "magic" on this child.
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