American missionary, founder of Haitian orphanage accused of sexually abusing 4 young boys
An American man who founded an orphanage in Haiti in 1985 forced four young boys who lived in the Port-au-Prince facility to engage in sexual activity with him, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
Michael Geilenfeld, 71, was indicted in Florida earlier this month on charges of child sexual abuse.
Federal prosecutors accuse the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys founder of traveling from Miami to Haiti “for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another person under 18.” The abuse allegedly took place from November 2006 to December 2010.
Geilenfeld — who had previously sued a Maine activist for defamation over accusations he abused boys in Haiti — was arrested in Colorado last weekend. During a detention hearing in Denver federal court on Friday, a prosecutor with the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section accused him of preying on children abroad while working as a missionary.
He is a “dangerous, manipulative and cunning child sexual predator,” Jessica Urban told the court via video feed, arguing Geilenfeld should not be released on bond because he might try to intimidate some of his victims.
His lawyer, Robert Oberkoetter, told Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak that his client currently takes care of his landlady and her severely disabled child, which he described as a full-time job.
Varholak has yet to decide on the case, saying he would still need to obtain information about Geilenfeld’s living situation in Colorado before issuing a decision.
With News Wire Services
