This is not directed at anyone, but I had to get something off my chest. I'm sick and tired of people second-guessing and blaming victims of abuse and rape. Unless you have been in such a situation yourself, you really shouldn't pass judgement. And Steven lived in what was thought to be a relatively safe neighborhood, in a small community - so his parents must have felt secure - after all, they had four other children who had never been exposed to anything violent or dangerous. Steven was a child, vulnerable and naive, and snatched cruelly from his family and fed horrendous lies and subjected to even more horrendous abuse. After a while, Parnell was the only parental figure he had and they moved quite frequently. I agree with the Stockholm Syndrome assessment that could very well be relevant in this case. And the police could have expanded their efforts rather than giving up Steven for dead.
The abuser has all the power, while the child is helpless in a relentless cycle. This was also a different time when the affects of abuse, the danger of abduction and molestation was not discussed and awareness had not been heightened the way it is now. I lived in an abusive home for years and never reported what was going on, out of fear, loyalty and the fact that I blamed myself. It's not as clear cut as just getting out and calling the police. It's much more complex to a child - the abuse becomes so much a part of your existence that it doesn't occur to you to live any other way. It wasn't until Parnell brought Timmy White into the picture that Steven realized that he had to take action - he couldn't allow this to happen again. He was selfless in that he risked both of their lives to escape Parnell and sent Timmy into the police station alone - it was only because Timmy got scared and ran to Steven that it was even discovered that he had been missing for seven years. His main concern was getting Timmy away from Parnell, not for himself.
The Stayner family is definately dysfunctional, and Steven's abduction obviously did not help matters. But keep in mind that Cary Stayner has admitted that he had fantasies about killing women long before Steven's disappearance. Perhaps if it had been caught earlier, but would they have known what to look for? Cary was extremely quiet (a word used to describe him by so many people), and uncommunicative, how could his parents have known what was going on inside his head? With so many other things going on, would you have been able to ascertain that there was a future serial killer in your family? Would you know what to do after your child had been abducted? There is no definate, clear answer. I just wish that stiffer penalties were doled out to abusers, rapists, kidnappers and stalkers. And that there was no more of the cycle of shame and sweeping things under the rug. None of the Stayners (including Steven) received counselling, perhaps because of the thought of sharing their ordeal with strangers, which is unfortunate because they clearly all needed help in dealing with the aftermath of Steven's captivity.
Sorry for rambling on - I just had to speak out!
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