Prosecutors Allege Kidnapped Boys Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted During Captivity

It’s the scenario you hoped wasn’t true, but feared had happened.

According to charges filed in a Missouri court, the man allegedly responsible for kidnapping two young boys off the streets of a St. Louis suburb repeatedly molested them while he held them captive.

Michael Devlin appeared before a judge on Monday, charged with 69 counts of forcible sodomy.

The 41-year-old pizzeria manager was arrested last month, when a 13-year-old disappeared after getting off a school bus just seconds from his home. Ben Ownby would later be found in Devlin’s apartment, after cops spotted a suspicious truck believed used in the abduction.

But authorities also discovered something in that same residence that stunned the world – a now-15-year-old boy named Shawn Hornbeck, missing for more than four years.

For weeks, the public has wondered about what happened to the elder lad, who told police he was ‘terrorized’ and made compliant during his time in captivity.

And if the court allegations are true, we now have a better understanding of what form some of that terror took.

Prosecutors allege Devlin attacked Ownby 17 times, with court documents showing the violations happened four times for each of the days the youngster was held.

They say he did the same thing to Hornbeck at least 56 times, most during the first month the boy was taken and at least once every month thereafter until both were found on January 12th.

Prosecutors allege Devlin used a gun to take the first child hostage.

“Devlin acknowledged committing these acts,” claims St. Louis county prosecutor Robert McCulloch.

Some of the evidence includes interviews with the boys themselves. Hornbeck has not spoken publicly about his ordeal and despite appearances on several big U.S. TV talk shows, may never choose to do so.

But he’s said to be willing to testify against his alleged abuser when the case goes to trial. “I think he’s committed to justice, as painful as it might be,” Hornbeck family lawyer Scott Sherman assures.

Devlin has pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charges. If he’s convicted of the sodomy allegations, he could go away for a very long time. Each count is punishable by life in prison.

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