Parents tell Winfrey they believe abducted son was sexually abused

~ Teenager says he isn't ready to discuss the 51 months he spent away from home.

UNION, Mo. -- The parents of a Missouri teen told Oprah Winfrey in a show that aired Thursday that their son hasn't told them directly but they believe he was sexually abused during the more than four years he was missing.

"OK, I'm going to go there and ask you, what do you think happened? Do you think he was sexually abused?" Winfrey asked Craig and Pam Akers, parents of 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck.

Both nodded and said yes.

The comments were broadcast the day pizzeria worker Michael Devlin pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping another boy, Ben Ownby, who was found Jan. 12 in Devlin's Kirkwood, Mo., apartment with Shawn, who was on the show Thursday with his parents.

This is a handout photo from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department of Michael Devlin,41. Authorities found 13-year-old Ben Ownby and 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, when they searched the apartment of Devlin, in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, 60 miles from where Ben was abducted. (AP Photo/Franklin County Sheriff-HO)

While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify alleged victims of sexual abuse in most cases, Shawn's case has been widely publicized and his name is well-known. Also, the family has gone public, conducting several national interviews.

Devlin's attorney, Michael Kielty, declined to respond to the claim of sexual abuse, saying he hasn't seen evidence in the case. "The only thing I have is an allegation," he said.

In a taped interview that aired on the program, Shawn said he prayed continuously he would be freed.

"I prayed that one day my parents would find me and I'd be united," he told Winfrey.

Shawn told Winfrey he was not ready to discuss details of his abduction and the subsequent 51 months he spent living with his accused kidnapper. Winfrey said the boy told her off-camera that he was "terrified" to contact his parents during the last four years.

Ben Ownby stands in the living room of his home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007 in Beaufort, Mo. Ben, 13, was reunited with his parents after being kidnapped Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

And the boy's parents told Winfrey they have not asked their son what happened on the advice of child advocacy experts, but are convinced their son did not contact them out of fear for his life, theirs or other members of their family.

Pam Akers said she does not know if her son was tortured, but her husband stressed that something happened to dramatically change the boy.

"There's mental torture, there's physical torture," he said. "I have no doubt that mentally he's not the same boy he was."