On the October 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly reported that Michael Devlin had “pleaded guilty today to kidnapping and sexually brutalizing two young boys in Missouri. One of them he had held captive for four years.” O'Reilly later said, “I'm not going to name the boys, because the boys have been through enough,” adding, “I saw the [FBI] report” and “I have never, in my 30 years of doing reporting, seen worse atrocities committed on a human being that Michael Devlin committed on this boy he held for four years.” O'Reilly concluded: “I don't think life in prison is enough for this guy. I wouldn't execute him. But there's got to be a hard-labor component.” However, at no point during the discussion did O'Reilly address comments he made regarding the boy who was “held for four years,” Shawn Hornbeck, on the January 15 edition of The O'Reilly Factor: "[T]here was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances."

O'Reilly's January 15 comment came during a discussion of the case with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren. O'Reilly claimed: “The situation here for this kid looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his old parents. He didn't have to go to school. He could run around and do whatever he wanted.” When Van Susteren pointed out that "[s]ome kids like school," O'Reilly replied: “Well, I don't believe this kid did. And I think when it all comes down, what's going to happen is, there was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances.” Earlier in the program, O'Reilly stated: “And the question is, why didn't he escape when he could have? There are all kinds of theories about that. ... All right, you know, the Stockholm syndrome thing, I don't buy it. I've never bought it. I didn't think it happened in the Patty Hearst case. I don't think it happened here."

The following day, during his “Talking Points Memo” segment, O'Reilly responded to viewer mail criticizing his comments about Hornbeck. O'Reilly concluded: “I actually hope I'm wrong about Shawn Hornbeck. I hope he did not make a conscious decision to accept his captivity because Devlin made things easy for him. No school, play all day long.” He added: “But to just chalk this up to brainwashing and walk away is turning away from the true danger of child molesters and abductors. All American children must be taught survival skills, must be prepared to face crisis situations. That is the lesson of the Shawn Hornbeck story.”

Following O'Reilly's comments, the Collier County, Florida, branch of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children announced that it had replaced O'Reilly as keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the organization, though the organization did not cite O'Reilly's Hornbeck comments as its specific reason for doing so. Rather, its announcement stated only:

In response to the numerous e-mails and inquiries we have received, we are providing the following update regarding the Collier County, Florida branch fundraising dinner scheduled for March 9, 2007 in Naples, Florida. Bill O'Reilly, host of The O'Reilly Factor, will not be a speaker at the dinner. The dinner will be held as scheduled. John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted, will be the keynote speaker.

We would like to thank everyone for their comments and e-mails.

As Media Matters further noted, O'Reilly vowed on the January 16, 17, and 22 editions of The O'Reilly Factor to “apologize” for his “skepticism” if his assessment proved “wrong.” O'Reilly claimed on the February 20 edition of The O'Reilly Factor that Hornbeck had "Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome" where “the child is literally tortured into accepting his circumstance.” However, a Media Matters review of O'Reilly Factor transcripts* found that O'Reilly has never apologized on The O'Reilly Factor for initially commenting that “there was an element here that this kid [Hornbeck] liked about his circumstances” or for suggesting that the time in captivity “for this kid look[ed] to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his old parents.”

O'Reilly frequently casts himself as a champion of children. He has also suggested that he is “looking out for the kids” and attacked “the print press” for not “car[ing] about the children.”

From the October 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the “Unresolved Problem” segment tonight, two difficult situations, both involving torture allegations.

Forty-one-year-old Michael Devlin pleaded guilty today to kidnapping and sexually brutalizing two young boys in Missouri. One of them he had held captive for four years.

Devlin will spend the rest of his life in prison, but is that enough punishment for a monster like this?

[...]

O'REILLY: Now, Devlin. I have to tell the audience that I have seen the FBI report, because kidnapping is a federal crime. And I'm not going to name the boys, because the boys have been through enough.

But the boy -- one boy was taken to Quantico, Virginia, and put under FBI supervision to try to get him back psychologically. And I saw the report. And I have never, in my 30 years of doing reporting, seen worse atrocities committed on a human being that Michael Devlin committed on this boy he held for four years.

I don't think life in prison is enough for this guy. I wouldn't execute him. But there's got to be a hard-labor component.

But Monica, the failure of our elected officials to deal with the horror of these kind of individuals. You know, you have eight states that still haven't passed Jessica's Law here. I think it's cowardice.

Why do you think the politicians don't engage on this more?

CROWLEY: It is a very curious question that you raise, Bill. Because to me, you know, when I look at politicians running for president or other high office, it seems like an issue like child predators would be a no-brainer for them.

Very easy. Sort of a softball issue for them, that they're going to prosecute these guys to the wall.

O'REILLY: Yeah, go after them.

CROWLEY: And yet, neither Republicans nor Democrats -- I don't think I've heard a single presidential candidate talk about it yet.

O'REILLY: We had -- Ted Kennedy did the right thing, finally, after we, you know, brought it right to his doorstep on the computer setup, and we have to get these guys in a database.

But Powers, in Vermont, they actually celebrated not passing Jessica's Law. They're actually proud of the fact that they're not tough on these people.

POWERS: I mean, I can't understand it. And I don't understand, frankly, why the pedophiles get back out, because they have such a high rate of recommitting these crimes. And so why -- why are they getting out of jail in the first place? And --

O'REILLY: Well, the horror that they wreak on children is beyond anybody's comprehension.

POWERS: And there is a bizarre, like, lax attitude about it.

O'REILLY: I actually had nightmares after I read that report about this Devlin, what he did to that boy. I mean, you know, I've seen it all. I have seen it all. This guy -- Devlin is the right name for this guy, ladies and gentlemen.

CROWLEY: You know, it seems like such an obvious issue for somebody like Senator Hillary Clinton, who's running for president as sort of --

O'REILLY: They're not going to touch it. They're afraid of it.

CROWLEY: -- the nation's maternal candidate. Rudy Giuliani, former prosecutor.

O'REILLY: Well, he may. He may. But they ought to get behind it.

CROWLEY: Mitt Romney, running on family values. These guys should be talking about it.

O'REILLY: They ought to get behind it.

All right, ladies. Thanks very much. We appreciate it.

From the February 20 broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: The issue of child rape is extremely complicated. Each situation's different. When the Shawn Hornbeck case broke, many pinheads in the media ran out screaming “Stockholm syndrome.” That is the captive identifies with the captor. That's just bull. And anyone who said that's irresponsible.

What happened to Shawn Hornbeck and thousands of other kids is called child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome. That is, the child is literally tortured into accepting his circumstance. This is so evil, it's almost beyond comprehension. The guy who did this to Shawn Hornbeck, Michael Devlin, doesn't deserve to live another day in this world. That's how evil the man is.

“Talking Points” is not going to report specifics about the Devlin case. I'm going leave that to the authorities. But everybody should know this is beyond horrifying. And no rehab should ever be in play.

The bottom line is that every American must understand child molestation is evil, not a disease, not an aberration. It's evil, and it must be punished as harshly as possible. I hope you watch the Oprah program tomorrow. And we'll discuss it later on that night on the Factor. OK? Right here tomorrow evening. And that's the “Memo.”

* A review of Fox News transcripts in the Nexis database for terms “show: (O'Reilly Factor) and Hornbeck or Devlin” yielded these results.