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For now, prosecutors – who didn't say whether any sexual abuse occurred – are expected to charge Devlin only with kidnapping. "There are some shocking facts about this case that have yet to come out," says Devlin's lawyer Ethan Corlija. So far, investigators have not pushed Ben or Shawn for too many details about their abductions. "We haven't gotten into anything about that," says Washington County Sheriff Kevin Schroeder, whose department has been on the case since 2002. "We think it's more important that he have time to reconnect with his family." Friends and relatives, too, were careful to give them time to readjust. "I just told my kids, 'Do not ask,' " says Connie Feth, whose son Tyler is Ben's best friend. "When he's ready to talk, he'll talk. He needs to be a kid now."
For Shawn Hornbeck's parents, Pam and Craig Akers – who went through their life savings trying to find him – having Shawn home again was both a dream and a shock. Some 30 pounds heavier and 5 inches taller than when they last saw him, and with several new body piercings, Shawn "is having a difficult time with all the commotion around the house," says family friend Kim Evans, who lives near the Akerses in Richwoods, Mo. "He's used to a quiet, rather solitary existence, and it's challenging for him right now."
