A prosecutor mentioned Friday {that a} Haitian orphanage’s American founder compelled 4 boys to interact in sexual acts greater than a decade in the past.
Michael Geilenfeld, 71, is a “dangerous, manipulative and cunning child sexual predator” who for many years has preyed on poor youngsters whereas working overseas as a missionary, Jessica City, a prosecutor with the Justice Division’s Little one Exploitation and Obscenity Part, mentioned throughout a detention listening to in Denver federal courtroom.
Her statements marked the primary time authorities have disclosed particulars of the investigation that led to Geilenfeld’s Jan. 18 indictment in Florida on expenses of kid sexual abuse. City, talking by way of a video feed, supplied the proof to assist her argument that Geilenfeld shouldn’t be launched on bond as his case proceeds. She mentioned authorities worry he or his supporters will attempt to intimidate victims to stop them from testifying in opposition to him.
The abuse befell between November 2006 and December 2010, in accordance with the indictment, a time interval when Geilenfeld was working the St. Joseph’s House for Boys orphanage. The cost carries a most sentence of 30 years in jail.
In response to the Florida indictment, Geilenfeld traveled to Haiti to interact in illicit sexual conduct with one other individual underneath the age of 18.
Authorities in Haiti have lengthy investigated intercourse abuse allegations in opposition to Geilenfeld and arrested him in September 2014 primarily based on allegations made in opposition to him by a baby advocate in Maine, Paul Kendrick. Kendrick accused Geilenfeld of being a serial pedophile after chatting with younger males who claimed they have been abused by Geilenfeld once they have been boys in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital the place he based the orphanage in 1985.
Geilenfeld referred to as the claims “vicious, vile lies,” and his case was dismissed in 2015 after he spent 237 days in jail in Haiti. Sooner or later, Geilenfeld and a charity related to the orphanage, Hearts for Haiti, sued Kendrick in federal courtroom in Maine. The swimsuit blamed Kendrick for Geilenfeld’s imprisonment, injury to his status and the lack of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in donations.
Hearts with Haiti acquired $3 million from Kendrick’s insurance coverage firms in 2019, however Geilenfeld didn’t obtain a cost.
Liberal People and Haitian orphanages don’t appear to have a great track record.
