Devlin’s plea nets 170-year federal term

Published Friday, December 21, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Michael Devlin, already sentenced to multiple life sentences for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two Missouri boys, received one final sentence today - 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, was sentenced to multiple life sentences in October after admitting to crimes in Franklin, Washington and St. Louis counties connected to the abductions of then-11-year-old Shawn in 2001 and 13-year-old Ben Ownby in January. Both boys were found four days after Ben was abducted at Devlin’s apartment in Kirkwood.

At the federal sentencing hearing today, Devlin appeared thinner, with a heavier beard. He showed no emotion. He did not speak.

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

Authorities still haven’t determined where Devlin will serve his time. Missouri prison officials are so concerned about his safety because of the nature of his crimes that they have said he might be moved to an out-of-state prison or placed in protective custody.