Posted on 02/05/2007 4:31:34 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
For First Time, Officials Openly Accuse Michael Devlin Of Molesting Children
(CBS News) CLAYTON, Mo. A Missouri man accused of kidnapping two boys and holding one for more than four years was charged Monday with molesting them — nearly 70 times in all.
The charges were the first time authorities have openly accused Michael Devlin of molesting the children.
Devlin, a 41-year-old pizzeria manager who had previously been charged with two counts of kidnapping, was charged with 69 counts of forcible sodomy, all felonies and each punishable by up to life in prison.
St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCullough said 18 of the counts related to an abduction last month, and the remaining counts were related to an abduction several years ago, apparent references to the Jan. 8 disappearance of 13-year-old Ben Ownby and the 2002 kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck, now 15.
For the four days he was held, Ben was molested four times a day, prosecutors said.
Both boys were found inside Devlin's apartment in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood on Jan. 12.
McCullough said the evidence includes interviews with all of the people involved. "Devlin acknowledged committing these acts," McCullough said.
Devlin has pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charges.
Shawn was 11 when he vanished while riding his bike near his home in Richwoods. Ben disappeared after he got off the school bus in Beaufort on Jan. 8. A white pickup seen speeding away led police to Devlin, authorities said.
Authorities have said Devlin used a gun to threaten Shawn when he was abducted in 2002.
While it is CBS News' and The Associated Press' policy not to identify alleged victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are now well-known. Also, their families have gone public, conducting several media interviews.
Last week it was learned that Hornbeck was ordered to guard fellow captive Ownby and hide him from police after they were repeatedly left alone in their captor's apartment, an official close to the investigation told The Associated Press Thursday.
Hornbeck's cooperation with Devlin was the result of what Hornbeck experienced during his first 30 days of captivity after Devlin allegedly kidnapped the boy in 2002, said the official who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Hornbeck'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, Hornbeck began to see Devlin as his protector and surrogate parent — 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.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Delvin has expanded, police say, with authorities searching one of his previous homes and investigators in Illinois looking into a possible connection to the 2003 murder of a 7-year-old boy.
St. Louis television station KTVI showed photos it obtained, apparently of Hornbeck, one of two missing boys found Jan. 12 in Devlin's apartment in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood. One of the photos shows a boy pointing a handgun at the camera.
This monster needs to be killed......
FOUR times a DAY......OMG!!!!
Gee, wonder why the LSM doesn't identify him as a "homosexual pedophile"?
I won't flame you.
I was horrified that they were on TV and even phoned my local NBC affiliate to protest Oprah's show being aired that day.
I pray both boys will be restored.
I want to puke.
they could do the interviews...leave the kid totally out of it.. and DON"T talk about the details.
Good grief, why do people keep bringing up Oprah? Oprah is so insignificent to the entire story. So these boys are supposed to hide in shame? They are supposed to not anyone see them because someone did the dirty deed to them? They are supposed to continue to be the victim? Oprah is really not that important compared to what these boys went thru.
If by Going On Oprah Shawn & Ben Might have given
COURAGE For another molested child to Seek Help !
If A Child gained courage to seek help from being abused by an evil molester by watching the courage of Ben & Shawn That is A Good Thing !
QUIT Blaming The Innocent Victims Family , & Use Your Rage Towards The Person Who Deserves It EVIL DEVLIN !
I Won't Judge Shawn's Dad Craig Akers !
Craig Akers..
Craig suffered from PAD
Peripheral Artery Disease
PAD can make simply walking very very painful, an craig went out on searches for missing kids, his belief in the importance of finding these kids was more important than his own discomfort and health.
He lost a leg because of this selflessness..
He gave of himself in every sense of the word to help families of missing kids with nothing in it for himself.
That is a HERO.
Shawn's Dad Lost His Leg Searching For A Missing Child In Canada !
I wouldn't go as far as to say that such a mindset is motivated by a "coping mechanism".
These individuals are not coping. They are reacting to an story. Perhaps they can empathize to some degree, especially if they have children.
I believe ignorance and a warped sense of logic is a reasonable answer. It would appear that the boy had no prior relationship with the accused before he was found missing. How would they explain the motive? Not attending school and Game Boy? "All" this if he hid out with a total stranger?
Whether it was Oprah, Dr. Phil, or whoever, all they did was extend an invitation. The parents had to consent to this interview. The issue is not Oprah. The issues is whether or not the parents were acting in the best interest of the boys.
It is not a question of shame. It is a question of privacy. Just because an individual doesn't "go public" with a story, or gives an "exclusive" doesn't automatically imply that they are ashamed.
"They are supposed to not anyone see them because someone did the dirty deed to them?" There is a world of difference between "anyone" and millions of complete strangers that are tuning in for the sake of curiosity, and can now recognize your face.
Duh, like these boys pictures aren't on CNN, ABC news, Fox news. St Louis Post Dispatch.
It is the parents responsibility to protect their sons privacy as much as possible. You can't stop photographers from taking your picture in public, but there is a difference between snapshots and a half hour/hour interview on television.
Are you suggesting the parents may as well give in because their sons pictures are being circulated anyway?
I didn't have much hope for Shawn, but I was also hoping that Ben still retained his innocence. I'm so sorry for both of them.
I know what you are saying, but please know that both Ben and Shawn ARE innocent children. They had terrible, terrible crimes perpetrated against them and they are the victims.
They have *nothing,* nothing at all, to be ashamed of. They need all the support they can get, inclding the positive and loving thoughts of those who hear their stories.
Here's another similar article, with some more details. I'm wondering how the prosecution came up with the number of counts of sodomy. Would the boys actually have kept track of every rape?
I'm thinking the prosecution had videos.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/05/ap3397455.html
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