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Are you trying to censor me?

This is from AP, generally thought to be a reliable source.

It's disgusting that Hornbeck helped not only to capture Ben, but also helped to hold him prisoner.

Steven Stayner, when confronted with a similar situation, took Parnell's new captive to safety.

People are different. From what I can tell Stayner was the exception, not Shawn. Many of these young men choose homosexuality as adults. Stayner did not. Shawn has struck me from the beginning as a follower and not a leader. So what? That describes many children. Ben Ownby, OTOH, loved school and probably would not have been as easy to manipulate. It might have cost him his life and Shawn's personality may well have saved his.

Okay, so you ignore the details from the article and just label his behavior "disgusting?" Try calling DEVLIN disgusting! From your article:

Shawn's isolation and abuse during that first month were so intense that the then 11-year-old's identity was torn apart, the official said. Over time, Shawn began to see Devlin as his protector and surrogate parent in a pattern common to many abuse victims, the official said. "He's a victim. He was kidnapped. He was taken from his parents. He was forced to live with this guy. He was forced to accommodate," the official said."

But I suppose you know better than them, huh? Steven Staynor waited over a week before he escaped with Timmy. Ben and Shawn were found after 4 days -- you don't know what Shawn would have done. What we do know is that, according to the reports about their first words when they were rescued, Ben knew that Shawn was also a missing child. He didn't point to him as a captor. Also, in the Staynor case, he was younger when he was abducted and, apparently, didn't need abuse to break his will. He was, instead, convinced that his parents didn't want him and that he was adopted. The appearance of Timmy probably helped to jog him from that misconception.