IV sesión en el palacio de justicia del condado de Washington Cargos adicionales
VO Devlin pleads guilty to making pornographic photos and tapes
>>ViDEO - Akers Statement - Declaración de los padres de Shawn
U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to be prepared, a standard procedure. She scheduled Devlin's sentencing for 9 a.m. Dec. 21.
Citing Devlin's guilty pleas, state Sen. John Loudon said Wednesday that he will propose legislation making some child kidnappers eligible for the death penalty.
"This guy really illustrated every parents' worst fear -- that their child could be minding their own business and literally disappear and be used in this kind of horrific way," said Loudon, R-Chesterfield.
Loudon's proposal would create the crime of "aggravated child kidnapping," which occurs when a child younger than 18 is kidnapped or confined and then raped or sodomized. It would be punishable by either death or life in prison.
If lawmakers were to pass Loudon's bill next year, it could not apply retroactively to Devlin.
Under current Missouri law, only first-degree murder is eligible for the death sentence.
Several other states already have laws allowing the death penalty in certain child rape cases.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. He told of how he tried to kill Shawn, but the boy promised to do anything Devlin wanted if he would let him live.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's apartment early this year.
Devlin received dozens of life sentences after his pleas, assuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing Shawn and Ben Ownby.
The hearings were part of an elaborate deal his attorneys struck in four jurisdictions where Devlin was charged with more than 80 counts, including sexual assault, kidnapping and attempted murder.
Devlin said through his attorneys that he accepted his punishment because he knew what he did was wrong -- a statement quickly dismissed by prosecutors and the boys' families.
"He pleaded guilty because he does not want the world to know the full extent of what he did," said St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch.
Prosecutors laid out new evidence showing that Devlin tortured Shawn during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee in order to stay alive. It was a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for more than four years, even as the boy had phone and Internet access, said Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers.
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings Tuesday.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts in Washington County on Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin -- standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents -- admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted Shawn. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.
"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
In St. Louis County, prosecutors said Devlin kept Shawn tied for weeks to a futon or a couch, with duct tape over his mouth. Devlin left the boy alone when he went to work during the days, then returned at night and repeatedly sexually assaulted him.
Prosecutors say Devlin also made a videotape of himself torturing Shawn while the boy screamed for him to stop.
Prosecutors said Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift.
Also Tuesday, Devlin pleaded guilty to 71 counts in St. Louis County Circuit Court -- two counts of kidnapping and 69 counts of forcible sodomy of Ben and Shawn. He was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences in St. Louis County.
Washington County Prosecutor John Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences.
"You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is," Rupp said.
Devlin's attorneys said the evidence against their client made a trial "impossible."
Attorney Michael Kielty referred to a videotape prosecutors described Tuesday.
Kielty said he wouldn't comment on what sentence he expects Devlin to receive in federal court on Wednesday.
The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will probably die in prison. Devlin is expected to serve his time in the state prison system.
While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known. www.foxnews.com
Devlin Expected To Plead Guilty To Making Torture Video
After recounting some of his acts during testimony given just feet away Shawn's weeping parents Tuesday, Devlin faces additional charges in federal court Wednesday morning
. He is expected to plead guilty to charges of videotaping himself torturing Shawn after kidnapping him, and transporting the boy across state lines.
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007, 6:55 AM CDT
ST. LOUIS (AP) Already given dozens of life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two boys, Michael Devlin was expected to plead guilty in federal court Wednesday to videotaping himself torturing one of the boys, and also taking him across state lines.
The hearing is the last in a series of court proceedings this week in which Devlin pleaded guilty to dozens of child kidnapping and sodomy charges.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. He told of how he tried to kill Shawn, but the boy promised to do anything Devlin wanted if he would let him live.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's apartment early this year.
Devlin received dozens of life sentences after his pleas, assuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby.
The hearings were part of an elaborate deal his attorneys struck in four jurisdictions where Devlin was charged with more than 80 counts, including sexual assault, kidnapping and attempted murder.
Devlin said through his attorneys that he accepted his punishment because he knew what he did was wrong -- a statement quickly dismissed by prosecutors and the boys' families.
"He pleaded guilty because he does not want the world to know the full extent of what he did," said St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch.
Prosecutors laid out new evidence showing that Devlin tortured Shawn Hornbeck during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee in order to stay alive. It was a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for more than four years, even as the boy had phone and Internet access, said Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers.
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings Tuesday.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts in Washington County on Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin -- standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents -- admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted Shawn. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.
"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
In St. Louis County, prosecutors said Devlin kept Shawn tied for weeks to a futon or a couch, with duct tape over his mouth. Devlin left the boy alone when he went to work during the days, then returned at night and repeatedly sexually assaulted him.
Prosecutors say Devlin also made a videotape of himself torturing Shawn while the boy screamed for him to stop.
Prosecutors said Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift.
Also Tuesday, Devlin pleaded guilty to 71 counts in St. Louis County Circuit Court -- two counts of kidnapping and 69 counts of forcible sodomy of Ben and Shawn. He was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences in St. Louis County.
Washington County Prosecutor John Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences.
"You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is," Rupp said.
Devlin's attorneys said the evidence against their client made a trial "impossible."
Attorney Michael Kielty referred to a videotape prosecutors described Tuesday.
Kielty said he wouldn't comment on what sentence he expects Devlin to receive in federal court on Wednesday.
The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will probably die in prison. Devlin is expected to serve his time in the state prison system.
While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known MF
Devlin makes first appearance in federal court
By Robert Patrick
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/10/2007 00:00 CDT
PHOTO >>Michael Devlin is sworn in by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Mark Siegel. (Robert Cohen/P-D)
Michael J. Devlin made his first federal court appearance at 9 a.m. today when he was arraigned on charges of producing child pornography and taking a minor across state lines for sex.
He is expected to plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton at 10:30 a.m.
According to one of Devlin's lawyers, Bryan S. Johnson, Devlin will face life in prison on the federal charges when he is sentenced two or three months from now. Johnson said Judge Hamilton could run that sentence consecutive to or concurrent with the other 70-plus state sentences of life imprisonment Devlin already is facing.
At the arraignment, Devlin appeared before Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler wearing a light brown jumpsuit. He was shackled at the ankles, wearing a belly chain and his left wrist was handcuffed.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Devlin is “literally off the charts,” Johnson said. His offense level warrants a 45 rating, but the highest level on the chart is 43. The only sentence available for that offense level is life.
Before Devlin is sentenced, lawyers will prepare a report detailing Devlin's life, including interviews with Devlin and family members. Also included will be his criminal history, which until earlier this year, had been zero.
Today's hearing is the last of four court proceedings this week in which Devlin pleaded guilty to scores of charges, including attempted murder, armed criminal action, child kidnapping and sexual assault.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how for a month he bound and gagged Shawn Hornbeck, who was 11 when Devlin abducted him in 2002. He testified about how he tried to strangle Shawn, but agreed to let him live after the boy promised to do whatever Devlin wanted.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's
Kirkwood apartment in January.
"I am tired of people saying, 'Why didn't the child do X, Y, or Z?'" Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Rupp said after a hearing in Potosi. "This boy did what he had to do to survive."
Craig Akers, the boy's stepfather, added later that Shawn "made a deal with the devil. He had to make a deal to save his life. … We don't have thoughts anymore of why he didn't try to get away."
Devlin, 41, of Kirkwood, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in downtown St. Louis at 10:30 a.m. today for the last of his parade of guilty pleas for the kidnapping and sexual torture of the two boys. His lawyers and prosecutors put together the plea deal last Friday, and events moved quickly through the courts.
Devlin admitted that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and attempted to kill Shawn Hornbeck, who was 11 when he disappeared while riding his bicycle near his home in Richwoods, in Washington County, on Oct. 6, 2002.
He also said he kidnapped and assaulted William "Ben" Ownby, 13, who disappeared from near his school bus stop on Jan. 8 in Beaufort, in Franklin County.
The Post-Dispatch does not usually identify victims of sex offenses, but the two boys' names have been used repeatedly in news reports worldwide.
Nothing revealed in this week's hearings suggested Devlin preyed upon anyone else. His lawyers said they are confident he did not. But St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said that given Devlin's age, "I suppose there could be other victims."
Police have looked for months for any evidence linking Devlin to other missing children.
Working only with another boy's description of a white pickup seen driving away on Jan. 8, officers closed in on Devlin's small apartment in Kirkwood just four days after Ben disappeared.
They were amazed to also find Shawn — a discovery on a cold, rainy day that made sensational news and turned Devlin into an international pariah.
Devlin, once a scraggly-bearded Imo's pizza manager in Kirkwood known as "Devo," admitted Monday in the Franklin County Courthouse in Union that he kidnapped Ben.
He began Tuesday by appearing in the Washington County Courthouse to admit his crimes in that county against Shawn, including an attempt to choke him to death about a month after kidnapping him.
Later in the day, Devlin appeared in St. Louis County Circuit Court in Clayton and pleaded guilty to all 71 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault for the time he held the boys captive in his apartment.
In Union, Circuit Judge Stanley D. Williams sentenced him to life plus 20 years. In Potosi, Circuit Judge Sandy Martinez added three life terms and 60 years, to be served together but only upon completion of the sentence handed down by Williams.
And in Clayton, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Mark D. Seigel stacked on 52 life terms to be served together, and 18 more to be served one after another — what the victims' families trust is a guaranteed burial alive in the prison system.
In Franklin and St. Louis counties, judges asked Devlin if the charges were true. "Yes, your honor," he'd say in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice. But in Washington County, Martinez required him to describe his crimes.
"It was very important that the world hear it from his own mouth so that, 10 years from now, there is no talk of any coercion," explained Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Rupp.
Devlin's lawyers said their client pleaded guilty to spare the boys and his own family from having to endure trials. But outside the courthouse in Clayton, McCulloch had another take.
"He pled guilty for Michael Devlin, so you wouldn't know the full atrocities on those boys," McCulloch said. The prosecutor said the dry recitation of charges inside the courtroom "was a very small taste of what they went through. … The boys are both heroes. It's a testament to how resilient they can be."
That dry recitation included an assistant prosecutor's description of how Devlin videotaped some of his attacks upon Shawn, who screams for him to stop.
Don and Doris Ownby, parents of Ben, and the Akerses spoke to reporters in Clayton after the court proceedings ended.
"It took every ounce of energy to stay in my seat," Pam Akers said. "I wanted to get to him."
During the hearing in Potosi, she briefly buried her face on her husband's shoulder, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, while Martinez read the sex assault charges.
Complying with the judge's order to describe the crimes against Shawn, Devlin said, "I followed him to a gravel road and forced him into my truck and drove him back to my apartment in St. Louis."
Of the attempt to choke the boy about a month later, Devlin said, "I took him from my apartment and drove to a gravel road in Washington County and took him out of the truck. I put my hands on his throat and attempted to kill Shawn. He stopped me and talked me out of it."
Devlin said the site was a remote logging road, near a camping property that he once owned with some friends.
While describing the sexual assaults, Devlin said Shawn talked him out of one of those, too.
Prosecutors said Devlin told FBI interrogators that he patrolled country roads looking for boys and had chosen Ben some time before abducting him, but insisted that he picked Shawn at random.
In pronouncing sentence in Potosi, Martinez expressed frustration, saying: "Any sentence this court can give you would seem unjust. It seems minimal in comparison to the long life sentence that this child has received. You are here because you made a choice to abduct this child. All this child was doing was being out like other kids and riding his bike."
In Clayton, Seigel said Devlin had caused "unimaginable carnage on the people in this case."
The Akerses seconded that with formal victim-impact statements they read to Seigel.
"The day the defendant stole my son away from me was the beginning of a nightmare no one should be forced to live," Pam Akers read, adding that Devlin kept Shawn "from his family for 1,558 long, miserable days."
Neither of the boys attended the hearings. Craig Akers said Shawn, now 16, was "overjoyed that the defendant is going to be in prison the rest of his life."
Said Doris Ownby: "We're done. He's gone out of our lives. We're going to try to get on with ours." SLD
Prosecutors laid out new evidence showing that Devlin tortured Shawn during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee in order to stay alive. It was a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for more than four years, even when the boy had phone and Internet access, said Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers.
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts at a Washington County hearing Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the then-11-year-old boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis where he repeatedly sexually assaulted him. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him, but Shawn resisted.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
Prosecutors also said that Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift at his shop.
www.foxnews.com
HISTORIAL
Condenan a cadena perpetua al pedófilo que secuestró en Missouri a Shaw Hornbeck y Ben Ownby
Encuentran en Missouri a dos niños secuestrados, uno de ellos hace cuatro años... +
Misterio e incógnitas tras la liberación de Shawn Hornbeck, el muchacho secuestrado durante 4 años
Entrevista a Shawn Hornbeck en el programa de Oprah Winfrey
17 de julio de 2007 Shawn Hornbeck celebra su 16 cumpleaños en familia, tras cuatro años de secuestro
Welcome home Shawn and Ben !!
Archives myFox: Shawn Hornbeck, Ben Ownby Stories and Videos
VO Devlin pleads guilty to making pornographic photos and tapes
>>ViDEO - Akers Statement - Declaración de los padres de Shawn
| Thanks for your continued support!
On behalf of Shawn and his entire family, we would like to thank everyone for their continued good thoughts and prayers. We are cautiously optomistic that we will soon clear another hurdle in our recovery from this horrific ordeal. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers while we see justice served. Shawn Family No apologies... No regrets... No acknowledgement that the parents of his victims were with him in the courtroom. Michael Devlin’s life prison terms keep adding up as he pleads guilty in four courtrooms to kidnapping and sexually abusing two boys for the last four years. The mother of one of the boys, Pam Akers, says Devlin’s behavior shows he’s a coward, and the only thing he is sorry for is getting caught. She’s the mother of Shawn Hornbeck, who was Devlin’ | ST. LOUIS — 10 OCT 2007 14:00 CDT
Already given dozens of life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two boys, Michael Devlin pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to making sexually explicit photographs and videotapes with one of the boys, and also taking him across state lines. Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts in the last of a series of court proceedings this week in which he pleaded guilty to dozens of child kidnapping and sodomy charges for the abduction and abuse of Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck. He pleaded guilty to coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce photographs and pornographic video tapes and transporting a child across state lines for illicit purposes. The photographs and videotapes were of Devlin and Shawn Hornbeck, now 16, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. |
Citing Devlin's guilty pleas, state Sen. John Loudon said Wednesday that he will propose legislation making some child kidnappers eligible for the death penalty.
"This guy really illustrated every parents' worst fear -- that their child could be minding their own business and literally disappear and be used in this kind of horrific way," said Loudon, R-Chesterfield.
Loudon's proposal would create the crime of "aggravated child kidnapping," which occurs when a child younger than 18 is kidnapped or confined and then raped or sodomized. It would be punishable by either death or life in prison.
If lawmakers were to pass Loudon's bill next year, it could not apply retroactively to Devlin.
Under current Missouri law, only first-degree murder is eligible for the death sentence.
Several other states already have laws allowing the death penalty in certain child rape cases.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. He told of how he tried to kill Shawn, but the boy promised to do anything Devlin wanted if he would let him live.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's apartment early this year.
Devlin received dozens of life sentences after his pleas, assuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing Shawn and Ben Ownby.
The hearings were part of an elaborate deal his attorneys struck in four jurisdictions where Devlin was charged with more than 80 counts, including sexual assault, kidnapping and attempted murder.
Devlin said through his attorneys that he accepted his punishment because he knew what he did was wrong -- a statement quickly dismissed by prosecutors and the boys' families.
"He pleaded guilty because he does not want the world to know the full extent of what he did," said St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch.
Prosecutors laid out new evidence showing that Devlin tortured Shawn during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee in order to stay alive. It was a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for more than four years, even as the boy had phone and Internet access, said Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers.
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings Tuesday.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts in Washington County on Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin -- standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents -- admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted Shawn. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.
"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
In St. Louis County, prosecutors said Devlin kept Shawn tied for weeks to a futon or a couch, with duct tape over his mouth. Devlin left the boy alone when he went to work during the days, then returned at night and repeatedly sexually assaulted him.
Prosecutors say Devlin also made a videotape of himself torturing Shawn while the boy screamed for him to stop.
Prosecutors said Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift.
Also Tuesday, Devlin pleaded guilty to 71 counts in St. Louis County Circuit Court -- two counts of kidnapping and 69 counts of forcible sodomy of Ben and Shawn. He was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences in St. Louis County.
Washington County Prosecutor John Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences.
"You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is," Rupp said.
Devlin's attorneys said the evidence against their client made a trial "impossible."
Attorney Michael Kielty referred to a videotape prosecutors described Tuesday.
Kielty said he wouldn't comment on what sentence he expects Devlin to receive in federal court on Wednesday.
The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will probably die in prison. Devlin is expected to serve his time in the state prison system.
While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known. www.foxnews.com
Devlin Expected To Plead Guilty To Making Torture Video
After recounting some of his acts during testimony given just feet away Shawn's weeping parents Tuesday, Devlin faces additional charges in federal court Wednesday morning
. He is expected to plead guilty to charges of videotaping himself torturing Shawn after kidnapping him, and transporting the boy across state lines.
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007, 6:55 AM CDT
ST. LOUIS (AP) Already given dozens of life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two boys, Michael Devlin was expected to plead guilty in federal court Wednesday to videotaping himself torturing one of the boys, and also taking him across state lines.
The hearing is the last in a series of court proceedings this week in which Devlin pleaded guilty to dozens of child kidnapping and sodomy charges.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. He told of how he tried to kill Shawn, but the boy promised to do anything Devlin wanted if he would let him live.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's apartment early this year.
Devlin received dozens of life sentences after his pleas, assuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby.
The hearings were part of an elaborate deal his attorneys struck in four jurisdictions where Devlin was charged with more than 80 counts, including sexual assault, kidnapping and attempted murder.
Devlin said through his attorneys that he accepted his punishment because he knew what he did was wrong -- a statement quickly dismissed by prosecutors and the boys' families.
"He pleaded guilty because he does not want the world to know the full extent of what he did," said St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch.
Prosecutors laid out new evidence showing that Devlin tortured Shawn Hornbeck during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee in order to stay alive. It was a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for more than four years, even as the boy had phone and Internet access, said Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers.
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings Tuesday.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts in Washington County on Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin -- standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents -- admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted Shawn. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.
"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
In St. Louis County, prosecutors said Devlin kept Shawn tied for weeks to a futon or a couch, with duct tape over his mouth. Devlin left the boy alone when he went to work during the days, then returned at night and repeatedly sexually assaulted him.
Prosecutors say Devlin also made a videotape of himself torturing Shawn while the boy screamed for him to stop.
Prosecutors said Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift.
Also Tuesday, Devlin pleaded guilty to 71 counts in St. Louis County Circuit Court -- two counts of kidnapping and 69 counts of forcible sodomy of Ben and Shawn. He was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences in St. Louis County.
Washington County Prosecutor John Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences.
"You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is," Rupp said.
Devlin's attorneys said the evidence against their client made a trial "impossible."
Attorney Michael Kielty referred to a videotape prosecutors described Tuesday.
Kielty said he wouldn't comment on what sentence he expects Devlin to receive in federal court on Wednesday.
The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will probably die in prison. Devlin is expected to serve his time in the state prison system.
While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known MF
By Robert Patrick
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/10/2007 00:00 CDT
PHOTO >>Michael Devlin is sworn in by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Mark Siegel. (Robert Cohen/P-D)
Michael J. Devlin made his first federal court appearance at 9 a.m. today when he was arraigned on charges of producing child pornography and taking a minor across state lines for sex.
He is expected to plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton at 10:30 a.m.
According to one of Devlin's lawyers, Bryan S. Johnson, Devlin will face life in prison on the federal charges when he is sentenced two or three months from now. Johnson said Judge Hamilton could run that sentence consecutive to or concurrent with the other 70-plus state sentences of life imprisonment Devlin already is facing.
At the arraignment, Devlin appeared before Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler wearing a light brown jumpsuit. He was shackled at the ankles, wearing a belly chain and his left wrist was handcuffed.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Devlin is “literally off the charts,” Johnson said. His offense level warrants a 45 rating, but the highest level on the chart is 43. The only sentence available for that offense level is life.
Before Devlin is sentenced, lawyers will prepare a report detailing Devlin's life, including interviews with Devlin and family members. Also included will be his criminal history, which until earlier this year, had been zero.
Today's hearing is the last of four court proceedings this week in which Devlin pleaded guilty to scores of charges, including attempted murder, armed criminal action, child kidnapping and sexual assault.
During this week's hearings, Devlin described how for a month he bound and gagged Shawn Hornbeck, who was 11 when Devlin abducted him in 2002. He testified about how he tried to strangle Shawn, but agreed to let him live after the boy promised to do whatever Devlin wanted.
Devlin also admitted to beginning the same effort with a second boy before the victims were discovered alive in Devlin's
Kirkwood apartment in January.
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RELATED LINKS STORIES Devlin's tour of courts gives onlookers a feast Pam Akers' victim impact statement Craig Akers' victim impact statement More coverage INTERACTIVE TALK: What’s your reaction to the news of a Devlin plea deal? POLL: Are you satisfied with the resolution of the Devlin case? MULTIMEDIA Devlin in Clayton Akers statement Devlin pleads guilty Union gathers to see Devlin Our earlier story. RELATED LINKS STORIES Devlin's tour of courts gives onlookers a feast Pam Akers' victim impact statement Craig Akers' victim impact statement More coverage INTERACTIVE TALK: What’s your reaction to the news of a Devlin plea deal? POLL: Are you satisfied with the resolution of the Devlin case? MULTIMEDIA Devlin in Clayton Akers statement Devlin pleads guilty Union gathers to see Devlin ...>>(+) | By William C. Lhotka and Tim O'Neil
Michael J. Devlin stood before two more judges Tuesday, admitted to kidnapping, attempted murder and a long roll of sexual offenses against two captive boys, and received 73 more life sentences. He never apologized or looked at his victims' parents in court. "That shows how much of a coward he is," an angry Pam Akers, mother of Shawn Hornbeck, said outside the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton. "Any apology he would have attempted to give would be just words. The only remorse he has is that he got caught." Prosecutors said Devlin's testimony of trying to choke Shawn, then 11, to death, use of a pistol in the abductions, the practice of tying Shawn to a futon in the early days and the long list of sexual attacks should put to rest any questions about why the boy didn't run away during his 4 1/2 years of captivity. |
Craig Akers, the boy's stepfather, added later that Shawn "made a deal with the devil. He had to make a deal to save his life. … We don't have thoughts anymore of why he didn't try to get away."
Devlin, 41, of Kirkwood, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in downtown St. Louis at 10:30 a.m. today for the last of his parade of guilty pleas for the kidnapping and sexual torture of the two boys. His lawyers and prosecutors put together the plea deal last Friday, and events moved quickly through the courts.
Devlin admitted that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and attempted to kill Shawn Hornbeck, who was 11 when he disappeared while riding his bicycle near his home in Richwoods, in Washington County, on Oct. 6, 2002.
He also said he kidnapped and assaulted William "Ben" Ownby, 13, who disappeared from near his school bus stop on Jan. 8 in Beaufort, in Franklin County.
The Post-Dispatch does not usually identify victims of sex offenses, but the two boys' names have been used repeatedly in news reports worldwide.
Nothing revealed in this week's hearings suggested Devlin preyed upon anyone else. His lawyers said they are confident he did not. But St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said that given Devlin's age, "I suppose there could be other victims."
Police have looked for months for any evidence linking Devlin to other missing children.
Working only with another boy's description of a white pickup seen driving away on Jan. 8, officers closed in on Devlin's small apartment in Kirkwood just four days after Ben disappeared.
They were amazed to also find Shawn — a discovery on a cold, rainy day that made sensational news and turned Devlin into an international pariah.
Devlin, once a scraggly-bearded Imo's pizza manager in Kirkwood known as "Devo," admitted Monday in the Franklin County Courthouse in Union that he kidnapped Ben.
He began Tuesday by appearing in the Washington County Courthouse to admit his crimes in that county against Shawn, including an attempt to choke him to death about a month after kidnapping him.
Later in the day, Devlin appeared in St. Louis County Circuit Court in Clayton and pleaded guilty to all 71 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault for the time he held the boys captive in his apartment.
In Union, Circuit Judge Stanley D. Williams sentenced him to life plus 20 years. In Potosi, Circuit Judge Sandy Martinez added three life terms and 60 years, to be served together but only upon completion of the sentence handed down by Williams.
And in Clayton, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Mark D. Seigel stacked on 52 life terms to be served together, and 18 more to be served one after another — what the victims' families trust is a guaranteed burial alive in the prison system.
In Franklin and St. Louis counties, judges asked Devlin if the charges were true. "Yes, your honor," he'd say in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice. But in Washington County, Martinez required him to describe his crimes.
"It was very important that the world hear it from his own mouth so that, 10 years from now, there is no talk of any coercion," explained Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Rupp.
Devlin's lawyers said their client pleaded guilty to spare the boys and his own family from having to endure trials. But outside the courthouse in Clayton, McCulloch had another take.
"He pled guilty for Michael Devlin, so you wouldn't know the full atrocities on those boys," McCulloch said. The prosecutor said the dry recitation of charges inside the courtroom "was a very small taste of what they went through. … The boys are both heroes. It's a testament to how resilient they can be."
That dry recitation included an assistant prosecutor's description of how Devlin videotaped some of his attacks upon Shawn, who screams for him to stop.
Don and Doris Ownby, parents of Ben, and the Akerses spoke to reporters in Clayton after the court proceedings ended.
"It took every ounce of energy to stay in my seat," Pam Akers said. "I wanted to get to him."
During the hearing in Potosi, she briefly buried her face on her husband's shoulder, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, while Martinez read the sex assault charges.
Complying with the judge's order to describe the crimes against Shawn, Devlin said, "I followed him to a gravel road and forced him into my truck and drove him back to my apartment in St. Louis."
Of the attempt to choke the boy about a month later, Devlin said, "I took him from my apartment and drove to a gravel road in Washington County and took him out of the truck. I put my hands on his throat and attempted to kill Shawn. He stopped me and talked me out of it."
Devlin said the site was a remote logging road, near a camping property that he once owned with some friends.
While describing the sexual assaults, Devlin said Shawn talked him out of one of those, too.
Prosecutors said Devlin told FBI interrogators that he patrolled country roads looking for boys and had chosen Ben some time before abducting him, but insisted that he picked Shawn at random.
In pronouncing sentence in Potosi, Martinez expressed frustration, saying: "Any sentence this court can give you would seem unjust. It seems minimal in comparison to the long life sentence that this child has received. You are here because you made a choice to abduct this child. All this child was doing was being out like other kids and riding his bike."
In Clayton, Seigel said Devlin had caused "unimaginable carnage on the people in this case."
The Akerses seconded that with formal victim-impact statements they read to Seigel.
"The day the defendant stole my son away from me was the beginning of a nightmare no one should be forced to live," Pam Akers read, adding that Devlin kept Shawn "from his family for 1,558 long, miserable days."
Neither of the boys attended the hearings. Craig Akers said Shawn, now 16, was "overjoyed that the defendant is going to be in prison the rest of his life."
Said Doris Ownby: "We're done. He's gone out of our lives. We're going to try to get on with ours." SLD
"We know now the details that made him not run away," Akers said after the hearings.
Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts at a Washington County hearing Tuesday, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn in 2002.
During that hearing, Devlin admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002 and described the point at which Shawn apparently turned from a kidnap victim into a powerless captive.
After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the then-11-year-old boy to his apartment in suburban St. Louis where he repeatedly sexually assaulted him. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.
He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him, but Shawn resisted.
Shawn's weeping parents Tuesday
After recounting some of his acts during testimony given just feet away Shawn's weeping parents Tuesday, Devlin faces additional charges in federal court Wednesday morning.
Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him to stay alive.
Prosecutors also said that Devlin began abusing Ben Ownby immediately after abducting him Jan. 8. Devlin abused the boy each day until authorities found Ben and Shawn in Devlin's apartment and rescued them Jan. 12, as Devlin, a pizzeria manager, worked the day shift at his shop.
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