ST. LOUIS — An abducted teenager was ordered to guard a fellow captive and hide him from police after they were repeatedly left alone in their captor’s apartment, an official close to the investigation told The Associated Press yesterday.Shawn Hornbeck’s cooperation with Michael Devlin was the result of what Shawn experienced during his first 30 days of captivity after Devlin allegedly kidnapped the boy in 2002, said the official who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak about the case.

Shawn’s isolation and abuse during that first month were so intense that the then 11-year-old’s identity was torn apart, the official said. Over time, Shawn began to see Devlin as his protector and surrogate parent in a pattern common to many abuse victims, the official said.

“He’s a victim. He was kidnapped. He was taken from his parents. He was forced to live with this guy. He was forced to accommodate,” the official said.

The source would not elaborate on what happened to Shawn during the 30 days, but said details of the abuse and captivity would emerge soon in the case against Devlin. Devlin, a 41-year-old pizzeria manager is charged with kidnapping Shawn and Ben in separate remote Missouri towns four years apart.

In a televised interview, Shawn’s parents have said that while they have not asked their son about his ordeal, they believe he was sexually abused.

Shawn, now 15, was 11 when he was kidnapped in 2002 from near his home in Richwoods. Ben was abducted in Beaufort on January 8, and a white pickup seen speeding away led police to Devlin.