The boy spent half his life in the captivity of a pedophile, but escaped and saved another child

The life of an American boy named Steven Steiner is divided into before and after on December 4, 1972. A 7-year-old first grader was returning from school when he was approached by a man named Erwin Murphy, who distributed church flyers to children.

Seeing Stephen, Erwin approached him and asked if he could donate some old things to the church. The boy replied that his mother would be happy to give something, and then Murphy offered to drive home in his car. Steiner, unsuspecting, trusted the man and got into the car driven by 41-year-old Kenneth Parnell – it was for him that Murphy (who was a weak-minded idiot and was simply following the rapist’s orders ) picked up the victim.

So Parnell kidnapped the boy and took him 25 miles from his home. The first night, Stephen was raped. The first week he cried a lot and asked to go back to his parents, but the pedophile convinced him that his father and mother had abandoned the boy and that he is now his official guardian.

Previously, Parnell had already been convicted of pedophilia, but after his release, the man again decided to commit a crime. This time, they were driven by the desire to start a family. So, having kidnapped Stephen, Kenneth gave him a new name – Dennis Gregory Parnell, and also began to call his son.

Parnell gave the newly created “son” to a new school, but at home he continued to rape, stuffing the boy with sleeping pills, alcohol and drugs for this. Together they traveled a lot, and Kenneth did not leave the “son” locked up, that is, the boy could easily escape. But he had nowhere to run: convinced that the family didn’t need him, Stephen stayed with the new “daddy”.

So seven years passed. Stephen grew up and Parnell lost interest in him and started looking for a new victim. The rapist was sure that it would not be difficult for him to kidnap a new boy with the help of his “son” – they say, children are prone to their own kind. But Stephen did his best to interfere with the “father’s” plans.

And yet, on February 14, 1980, Parnell managed to kidnap 5-year-old Timothy White. By then, Stephen had long accepted his fate, but did not want to see how the new “brother” would repeat his fate, so on March 1 of the same year, when the “father” worked as a security guard for the night shift, the boys ran away.

Stephen hitchhiked Timothy to his hometown, but he couldn’t find the baby’s house. Then the boys went to the police station: Stephen wanted Timothy to enter the building alone and ask for help, while he would be in hiding at that time. But the servants of the law noticed them both in time. White was recognized immediately, after which Steiner told his story. The two boys quickly returned to their families.

Parnell was arrested the following day. For numerous rape cases, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was conditionally released after five years. A few years later, he landed in jail again – this time for armed robbery.

The story of the pedophile has become resonant. A book has been written about Parnell, he has been interviewed more than once. In one of them, the rapist noted that he did not consider himself a pedophile. Moreover, his pregnant wife pushed him to the first rape: it is said, she could not fulfill her marital duty, and he had no choice but to find her a replacement. By the way, Parnell married twice, and each wife bore him a daughter.

The subsequent fate of Stephen can hardly be called happy. He could hardly adapt to the new living conditions. Parnell allowed “his” to drink, smoke and generally do anything. In his own family, the guy was treated like a seven-year-old baby, whom they had once lost.

Today, any of us will say that a child who has been through this just needs psychological help, but Stephen’s father insisted that everything was in order with his son. “After they [родители] stopped teaching me the basics, everything just got better. But why doesn’t my father hold me in his arms anymore? Everything changed. Sometimes I blame myself. Sometimes I don’t know if I should have gone home. Would I be better off if I didn’t?” – Stephen admitted in an interview.

At school, Steiner was bullied by children and he eventually dropped out. Stephen started drinking and his already strained relationship with his father deteriorated further until he was kicked out of the house completely.

In 1985, 20-year-old Stephen married 17-year-old Jody Edmondson, with whom two children were born – daughter Ashley and son Stephen Jr.

Stayner also worked on abduction search teams, talking to children about personal safety and giving interviews, telling his story and trying to protect others. The only thing is that Stephen never spoke in detail about the rape – for him it is a taboo subject.

On September 16, 1989, 24-year-old Steiner died in a motorcycle accident on his way home from work. Around 500 people attended Stephen’s funeral. Timothy White, 14, carried his savior’s coffin.

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