Judge denies Devlin transfer as prosecutor pursues another charge

UNION, Mo. (AP) -- A Franklin County judge denied a motion Thursday to transfer accused kidnapper Michael Devlin to the St. Louis County jail, ruling that keeping him here poses no security risk.

Devlin faces a charge of first-degree kidnapping in this rural county 40 miles west of St. Louis for the Jan. 8 abduction of Ben Ownby.

Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Parks announced Wednesday he plans to file a second charge of armed criminal action against Devlin for allegedly using a firearm during the alleged abduction.

Prosecutors in three counties allege Devlin abducted Ben more than four years after he kidnapped then 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck of Washington County at gunpoint.

Devlin is charged in his home of St. Louis County with 69 counts of forcibly sodomizing Shawn over four years -- and Ben over four days -- before authorities rescued the boys Jan 12. Each charge carries a life sentence.

Devlin's attorneys filed a motion to transfer their client after Devlin agreed to be interviewed by a New York Post reporter who visited him in jail.

Franklin County Associate Circuit Judge David Tobben denied the transfer motion Thursday, agreeing with Park's argument that the interview did not breach security because Devlin agreed to see the reporter and was protected behind bulletproof glass.

Devlin's attorneys Ethan Corlija and Michael Kielty said after the hearing that they would feel more comfortable if Devlin was kept in St. Louis County.

"You don't have stories about guys breaking into St. Louis County (jail). Let's put it that way," Kielty said.

Parks would not say if new evidence in the case pushed him to seek the second charge of armed criminal action in the Ownby case. He said he will present evidence to a Franklin County grand jury this month to seek an indictment on the charge.

Both Ben and Shawn have been returned to their families, Ben in Beaufort and Shawn in Richwoods.

Both boys are undergoing counseling to overcome the trauma of their experience, according to their families.

While it is 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.