‘Slowly Learning to Cope’

This week, Michael Devlin pleaded guilty in four different Missouri courts to charges of abduction, sexual assault and attempted murder involving two boys: Shawn Hornbeck and William (Ben) Own by. That brought to a close a case that riveted the nation back in January when police, who were searching for Ben, found him at Devlin's apartment along with Shawn, a teenager who had been missing for more than four years. New disturbing details about the kids' captivity emerged during Devlin's court appearances this week. He admitted to tying Shawn to a futon in the early days after kidnapping him, making videotapes of sexual acts with him and once nearly choking him to death, until Shawn talked Devlin out of it by promising to do whatever Devlin wanted. The plea agreement ensured that Devlin, who received multiple life sentences, will be locked away until his death—and spared the boys the trauma of having to testify in court. To learn how Shawn took the news and how his recovery is going, NEWSWEEK's Arian Campo-Flores spoke to his parents, Craig and Pam Akers. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How did you react when you learned the news of Devlin's plea agreement?
Craig Akers: That would've been on Thursday, Oct. 4. It was early evening. We were actually driving. Ironically, we were on our way to meet the rest of the family to have dinner for my birthday. We were going to the same restaurant where the entire family was together on the day before Shawn's disappearance—the last time we had all been together as a family. Pam got the call [from our attorney], and he just pretty much told us that they had been able to come to an agreement. We were cautiously optimistic, extremely happy that it could be handled that way, but at the same time, we knew that until the deal was done, [Devlin] could still change his mind at any time. So we didn't go into party mode. We were still very cautious. We didn't want to get our hopes up.

How did Shawn react?
Craig: We didn't want to get his hopes up either, so we didn't tell him a whole lot about it [at first]. Naturally, once he found out, he was elated, happy that he wouldn't have to get up on the stand and share this with the whole world. And he knew that the defendant would be incarcerated for the rest of his life and there was no way he would be able to get out and be able to harm another person on the face of the earth.

Devlin's court appearances this week were the first time you came face to face with him. What was it like to confront him in person?
Pam Akers: I knew it was one of the hardest things we would have to do. We knew eventually we would have to be in the same room. I thought I was prepared, but when he entered, I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. It was horrible to sit in the same room with him that close to us, knowing what he had done to our son. I tried to make eye contact with him, but he never did look at me. He would never look over. I had said many times on TV when we were begging on TV for his release that there's nothing like the wrath of a mad mother. I wanted him to see that. I thought he might see some of the pain he had inflicted.

Do you think justice has been served with Devlin's multiple life sentences?
Craig: As much as it can be. There really wasn't a sentence that the court could impose that would be strong enough to deal with this. Whether it was multiple life sentences, the death penalty—it just seems that it was too easy. It didn't mean that he was going to suffer. Life in prison is not going to be a walk in the park, but it won't compare to the things that he subjected these boys to. Justice is justice, not always satisfaction. We thought for a while that the death penalty would be appropriate, but the more we thought about it, it was too simple, too easy. A very, very long life in prison in miserable conditions, segregated from the population, seemed more of a punishment.

How was Shawn handling the prospect of testifying?
Pam: He wasn't excited about it, but he was very much prepared for it and willing to do whatever he had to do to make sure justice was served.
Craig: That was something we had been discussing with therapists, and it was on the agenda to start preparing him for that eventuality. When we had originally talked to the therapist about a trial at the beginning of the year, the therapist wasn't happy with that at all. They would have to stop what they were working on and work exclusively on preparing him. [With Devlin's plea agreement], they weren't going to have to disrupt the whole process and make them start all over again.