Devlin gets additional 170 years in prison

ST. LOUIS -- Michael Devlin, already sentenced to multiple life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two Missouri boys, received one final sentence Friday -- an additional 170 years on federal charges.

U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton went well beyond the sentencing guideline of 30 years for Devlin, who pleaded guilty in October to six counts for making pornographic photos and videotapes of one of the victims, Shawn Hornbeck, and taking him across state lines on trips to Illinois and Arizona with the intent of sexually assaulting him.

Devlin, 42, had 79 state convictions, including 74 life sentences, in October after admitting to crimes in Franklin, Washington and St. Louis counties connected with the abductions of then-11-year-old Shawn in 2002 and 13-year-old Ben Ownby in January. Both boys were found four days after Ben was abducted at Devlin's apartment in the St. Louis County town of Kirkwood.

At the federal sentencing hearing Friday, Devlin appeared much thinner and with a heavy beard. He showed no emotion, except for an occasional twitch of his shackled hands.

Shawn's parents, Craig and Pam Akers, were at the hearing. Craig Akers appeared noticeably pained when Kielty told the judge that by pleading guilty, Devlin spared the boys and their families "the torture of going to trial."

They told the judge Devlin had shown their son, and those who love him, no mercy and spoke of how they were without him for 1,558 days.

"I don't think any parent can bear the thought of their child being tortured for one day, yet alone four years," Pam Akers said.

After the proceedings, Kielty said Devlin has taken responsibility for what he had done and defended his own remarks about Devlin. "This is the last opportunity that anybody on any level is going to have anything to say on Michael Devlin's behalf," he said.

The couple expressed surprise and were pleased with the judge's lengthy sentence, though Kielty said in practical terms, "Life is life."

"Wow, I feel like a thousand pounds has been lifted off my shoulders," Pam Akers said.

She said the completion of the court proceedings before Christmas seemed like no accident.

"Maybe it was to remind us that miracles do happen," she said. She asked the public to take a close look this holiday season at pictures of other missing children, hoping that could bring someone else's child home.

Craig Akers mentioned that Devlin's lawyers have previous spoken of feeling physically ill when seeing videotapes of their son's abuse. As for the notion that Devlin was a pretty good person, he said, "I'm sure all of you know, as we do, that frankly that's a load of crap."

Federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway said Devlin hadn't spared anyone other than himself by not going to trial, but she was confident he will never be paroled.

"I wish he had more than one life to serve out in prison," she said.

Authorities still haven't determined where Devlin will serve his time, and they downplayed theories circulating about where he will be housed. Devlin will serve his state time before the federal charges. The couple would prefer he remain in Missouri, but said they've heard of no request that he receive special accommodations.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that state prison officials might give him a new prison identity for his protection. Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth said that had never been planned and said it was his understanding that it wouldn't be permissible by law.

Shawn was abducted in October 2002 while riding his bike near his home in the Washington County town of Richwoods. Ben was taken soon after getting off a school bus not far from his home in rural Franklin County.

A classmate of Ben's noticed a white pickup truck speeding away. His description led police to Devlin, a former pizzeria manager.

Prosecutors have said Devlin tortured Shawn during his first days in captivity and made the boy promise not to flee to stay alive. Craig Akers has called it a "devil's bargain" that kept Shawn under Devlin's sway for about four years, even after he had Internet and telephone access.

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.