A little boy snatched from his bed in the middle of the night. A family's frantic search. A joyful reunion tainted by the horrible realization that the boy had been raped.
How does a family recover from such a horrific crime?
The 2-year-old victim spent a couple of days in the hospital after deputies found him lying naked, his head bound with duct tape, in some bushes Monday morning, less than an hour after him mother reported him missing.
Damion Winston Foster, 27, who lived within four blocks of the child's home, was arrested Friday by Broward Sheriff's Department investigators in connection with the incident. He is charged with sexual battery on a child, kidnapping, burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle and violation of probation for a previous domestic violence arrest, and is being held without bail.
The toddler received treatment for his physical injuries and is back home with his family, which is not being identified because of the nature of the crime. His mother said that, for all the horror of the experience, he's appeared unscathed.
"We're just watching over him very carefully, but everything to this point has been completely normal," she said, adding that he and the rest of his family nevertheless will get counseling in the immediate future. "This has completely wrecked all of us."
The psychological and emotional trauma he suffered may be hard to detect, warned Mandy Wells, director of the Sexual Assault Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale. The severity of the trauma will depend largely on his personality and temperament.
"There certainly will be some impact, even with a young child," Wells said.
Since he is so young, he may eventually forget what happened. But, in the short term, his parents should watch for changes in his behavior, Wells said. Two-year-olds cannot verbalize the pain they might be feeling, so he might express himself by becoming clingy or withdrawn, or experiencing nightmares or crying fits.
And the trauma to the rest of the family cannot be overlooked.
The boy's mother said she has all three of her children sleeping with her and her husband because she's afraid to let them out of her sight. None of them is sleeping well because they're all so jumpy. These are common signs of people experiencing serious psychological stress, Wells said.
"The parents can be traumatized by knowing what happened to the child," she said. "And the parents can sometimes end up communicating the anxiety to the children."
The parents of children who are abducted and sexually abused struggle with feelings of fear, guilt and anger. When this mother talks about Foster, her rage is palpable.
"I hope they bury him under the jail," she said.
There were about 58,000 children abducted by strangers in 1999, according to the most recent federal study. Nearly half of those children were sexually assaulted.
Don Ryce, the father of Jimmy Ryce -- the 9-year-old Miami-Dade boy who was abducted in 1995 as he got off a school bus, raped and murdered -- said this family and everyone in the community needs to address the situation head-on.
"There's this thought that it's too horrible to think about, let's just pretend it didn't happen," said Ryce, who is dedicated to raising awareness about sexual predators. "That's a poor thing to do for your children."
Experts recommend turning to family, a church or synagogue or a psychologist for help getting through such an ordeal, but Ryce said not to underestimate the power of love.
"I know it's got to be terribly painful for them, but we would have given anything to have Jimmy back," he said. "They should give that kid a lot of love, and just make it as easy as they can for him."
Staff Researcher William Lucey and Staff Writer Lisa J. Huriash contributed to this report.
Shannon O'Boye can be reach at soboye@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4597.
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