Devlin to be arraigned in Washington County

ST. LOUIS -- Michael Devlin, accused of kidnapping two teenage boys more than four years apart, was scheduled for arraignment on charges that he kidnapped, sexually abused and attempted to murder 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck in 2002.

Devlin's arraignment, set for today in Washington County, will mark the first time he has left the Franklin County Jail since he was arrested Jan. 12.

Washington County Prosecutor John Rupp told the Park Hills Journal that Devlin will be transported from Franklin County to Washington County jail, where he will hear the charges filed against him over the closed circuit video feed.

Authorities found Hornbeck in Devlin's suburban St. Louis apartment in January along with 13-year-old Ben Ownby, who had been missing for four days.

Devlin, 41, of Kirkwood, is facing multiple charges in four jurisdictions. He is charged with kidnapping Ownby in Franklin County; two counts of kidnapping and 69 counts of forcible sodomy in St. Louis County, where he allegedly kept the boys; and federal charges of pornography and transporting a boy across state lines.

Rupp said the timing of Devlin's transfer is being kept a secret for Devlin's safety.

Devlin's attorneys have received about 2,000 pages of evidence that state and federal authorities have amassed against their client. One of his attorneys, Ethan Corlija, said it would be wrong to assume Devlin's case is a "slam dunk" that might be finished in one deal between all the jurisdictions.

Corlija said he plans to request that Devlin be permanently transferred to St. Louis County jail to be kept in custody for the duration of his trial.

A state and federal task force is digging through Devlin's past to see if he was involved in other unsolved cases. The task force includes investigators from Washington, Franklin, St. Louis and Lincoln counties, along with the FBI, the Highway Patrol and Kirkwood and St. Charles police.

Authorities say Devlin kidnapped Ownby at gunpoint after the boy got off a school bus near his home in the Franklin County town of Beaufort. Shawn Hornbeck, now 15, was kidnapped while riding his bike in the Washington County town of Richwoods.

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.