MIAMI HERALD / Un jury de Miami déclare le fondateur américain de l'orphelinat Saint Joseph de Delmas 91, en Haïti, coupable d'abus sexuels sur des garçons.

[Des allégations d'abus sexuels ont suivi Geilenfeld pendant plus de dix ans. Après que le journaliste haïtien Cyrus Sibert et le défenseur des droits de l'enfant, Paul Kendrick de Freeport, Maine ont lancé une campagne pour le faire arrêter. Geilenfeld et un groupe à but non lucratif de Raleigh, Caroline du Nord, qui soutenait son orphelinat de St. Geilenfeld ont intenté un procès en diffamation devant un tribunal fédéral].

 PAR JAY WEAVER 

20 FÉVRIER 2025 

Un jury fédéral de Miami a reconnu Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73 ans, coupable d'avoir abusé sexuellement de six garçons dans un orphelinat qu'il possédait en Haïti. 

À 73 ans, Michael Geilenfeld aurait pu conclure un accord de plaidoyer pour réduire sa peine de prison potentiellement longue sur les accusations fédérales d'abus sexuels sur de nombreux garçons en Haïti. 

Mais le fondateur américain d'un orphelinat de Port-au-Prince a misé sur un procès devant un jury au tribunal fédéral de Miami - et il a perdu. 

Le jury, composé de 12 personnes, a déclaré Geilenfeld coupable, après avoir délibéré pendant seulement cinq heures jeudi, de six chefs d'accusation pour avoir eu des contacts sexuels illicites avec des mineurs dans un lieu étranger et d'un chef d'accusation pour s'être rendu de Miami à Haïti dans ce but. Il risque jusqu'à 30 ans de prison pour chacun des chefs d'accusation lors de sa condamnation le 5 mai devant le juge du district américain David Leibowitz. 

Avant que le procès ne commence avec la sélection du jury début février, les procureurs ont indiqué au juge Leibowitz qu'ils avaient fait une offre de plaidoyer à Geilenfeld mais que celui-ci l'avait rejetée, demandant au juge d'en prendre note au cas où l'accusé ferait appel ou attaquerait sa condamnation. 

Au cours des trois semaines qu'a duré le procès, Geilenfeld a fait face à six de ses accusateurs à la barre des témoins. 

Le gouvernement a commencé par le témoignage d'un jeune homme qui avait vécu au foyer St. Il a déclaré que lorsqu'il avait 12 ans, Geilenfeld l'avait amené dans sa chambre pour l'aider à apprendre une prière. Mais au lieu de cela, Geilenfeld l'a assis sur une chaise et l'a embrassé sur la bouche, a fait fondre ses parties génitales et a essayé d'avoir des relations sexuelles anales. 

« Son pantalon était baissé et son pénis frottait contre mon derrière », a déclaré l'homme de 28 ans par l'intermédiaire d'un interprète créole, précisant qu'il l'avait “poussé” et qu'il était “sorti en courant” de la chambre du propriétaire. Geilenfeld lui a ensuite dit « de n'en parler à personne d'autre », a déclaré l'homme. 

L'homme fait partie des six garçons haïtiens qui ont accusé le fondateur de l'orphelinat de les avoir agressés sexuellement alors qu'ils résidaient à Saint-Joseph entre 2005 et 2010, selon un acte d'accusation déposé par les procureurs Lacee Monk, Eduardo Palomo et Jessica Urban. Les garçons, qui avaient alors entre 9 et 13 ans, sont aujourd'hui âgés d'une vingtaine d'années. 

IL S'EN PRENAIT AUX GARÇONS : LE PROCUREUR 

Les procureurs ont dépeint Geilenfeld comme un prédateur qui utilisait ses pouvoirs pour s'attaquer aux garçons haïtiens vulnérables, issus de familles brisées ou sans parents. Geilenfeld, qui a fondé l'orphelinat Saint-Joseph en 1985, offrait aux garçons un abri, une scolarité, des repas, des tâches ménagères et des prières qui se sont transformés en « cauchemar », ont-ils déclaré.

Les avocats de la défense, Raymond D'Arsey Houlihan III et Jean-Pierre Gilbert, ont soutenu que Geilenfeld n'avait abusé d'aucun garçon à St. Joseph's, affirmant que les six victimes mineures citées dans l'acte d'accusation avaient été recherchées et payées avec de l'argent et la possibilité d'obtenir l'asile aux États-Unis. 

Joseph's interrogé par les procureurs a expliqué comment Geilenfeld l'avait abusé sexuellement dans la chambre du propriétaire, derrière une porte fermée à clé, et qu'il venait témoigner parce que c'était son droit. Il a déclaré qu'il n'avait pas été payé ou qu'aucun avantage ne lui avait été promis pour son témoignage. 

« J'avais honte de ce qui m'était arrivé », a déclaré l'homme, rappelant que lorsqu'il a parlé avec d'autres résidents des abus sexuels présumés, il a été poignardé par un garçon de St. Les procureurs ont montré au tribunal une image de la cicatrice que l'homme a laissée après avoir été poignardé près de sa clavicule gauche. 

« Je suis très triste et j'espère que justice sera rendue », a-t-il déclaré. « Je suis une victime. C'est mon droit de témoigner ». 

ARRESTATION AU COLORADO 

L'enquête fédérale sur le passé de Geilenfeld a été lancée par les services de sécurité intérieure (Homeland Security Investigations) et rejointe par le FBI, ce qui a conduit à son arrestation en janvier de l'année dernière dans le Colorado. Bien que Geilenfeld se soit vu accorder une caution par un juge d'instance pour rester dans une maison de transition, cette décision a été mise en suspens. 

En avril, le juge fédéral de Miami, M. Leibowitz, a estimé qu'il ne devait pas être libéré avant le procès parce qu'il représentait un danger pour la communauté et un risque de fuite vers les Caraïbes. 

À ce moment-là, le dossier pénal américain a changé de manière significative, les procureurs ayant déposé un nouvel acte d'accusation accusant Geilenfeld de s'être livré à un « comportement sexuel illicite » avec des mineurs à l'hôpital Saint-Joseph, en plus de l'accusation initiale de s'être rendu à Haïti dans ce but. 

Lors d'une audience sur la détention, les procureurs ont déclaré que Geilenfeld avait « abusé sexuellement de 20 garçons » dans son orphelinat et qu'il les avait ensuite menacés de ne rien dire ou de leur faire du mal. 

DES PHOTOS DÉCOUVERTES PAR LES AUTORITÉS FÉDÉRALES 

Les procureurs ont déclaré que Geilenfeld conservait un dossier contenant des photos de ses victimes présumées d'abus sexuels - une preuve qui a été découverte par les agents des douanes et de la protection des frontières des États-Unis en mai 2019, alors que Geilenfeld se rendait en République dominicaine en passant par l'aéroport international de Miami. La série de photos comprenait des photos de quelques-unes des victimes de Geilenfeld citées dans l'acte d'accusation, selon les procureurs. 

Dans les documents judiciaires, les procureurs ont déclaré que Geilenfeld se présentait « comme un missionnaire tout en utilisant sa position et ses privilèges pour abuser sexuellement de jeunes garçons et dissimuler ses crimes ». 

Entre le milieu des années 1980 et 2014, M. Geilenfeld a géré plusieurs orphelinats en Haïti, dont le foyer Saint-Joseph. Il a également ouvert un foyer en République dominicaine après s'y être réfugié pour échapper à des allégations d'abus sexuels en Haïti, où il avait été emprisonné et où une procédure judiciaire est toujours en cours.

Le gouvernement haïtien a fermé le premier foyer Saint-Joseph à Port-au-Prince en 2014 à la suite de l'arrestation de M. Geilenfeld pour des allégations d'abus sexuels. Après que Geilenfeld a passé un an en prison, soupçonné d'attentat à la pudeur et d'association de malfaiteurs, son affaire a été classée par un juge après que ses victimes présumées ne se sont pas présentées à une audience clé. Les victimes ont fait appel. Bien qu'il ait été accepté, l'affaire n'a pas encore été rejugée. 

Des allégations d'abus sexuels ont suivi Geilenfeld pendant plus de dix ans. Après que le journaliste haïtien Cyrus Sibert et le défenseur des droits de l'enfant, Paul Kendrick de Freeport, Maine ont lancé une campagne pour le faire arrêter. Geilenfeld et un groupe à but non lucratif de Raleigh, Caroline du Nord, qui soutenait son orphelinat de St. Geilenfeld ont intenté un procès en diffamation devant un tribunal fédéral.

Ils ont d'abord obtenu un jugement contre Kendrick, qui vit dans le Maine, mais ce jugement a été annulé pour défaut de juridiction. 

Geilenfeld et l'association à but non lucratif ont intenté un second procès devant le tribunal de l'État du Maine. Kendrick a réglé le litige et son assurance habitation a versé 3,5 millions de dollars à l'association caritative. Geilenfeld a signé un document avec le tribunal rejetant toutes les accusations portées contre lui sans aucune rémunération financière. 

La correspondante du Miami Herald dans les Caraïbes, Jacqueline Charles, a contribué à cet article.

Source : Miami Herald, traduire par le site DeepL

Abonnez vous à la chaine Youtube "Agenda National d’Haiti, Ajanda lakay” du journaliste  Cyrus Sibert

https://www.youtube.com/@ajandalakay

MIAMI HERALD / Miami jury finds American founder of Haiti orphanage guilty on federal criminal charges of sexually abusing boys there.-

 

[Allegations of sexual abuse have followed Geilenfeld for more than a decade. After a children’s rights advocate, Paul Kendrick of Freeport, Maine, and Haitian journalist Cyrus Sibert launched a campaign to have him arrested. Geilenfeld and a Raleigh, North Carolina, nonprofit group that supported his St. Joseph’s orphanage sued for defamation in federal court.]

BY JAY WEAVER
FEBRUARY 20, 2025

A Miami federal jury found Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, guilty of sexually abusing six boys at an orphanage he owned in Haiti.
At 73, Michael Geilenfeld could have cut a plea deal to reduce his potentially long prison sentence on federal charges of sexually abusing numerous boys in Haiti.

But the American founder of a Port-au-Prince orphanage gambled on a jury trial in Miami federal court — and lost.

The 12-person jury found Geilenfeld guilty, after deliberating for only five hours on Thursday, of six counts of engaging in illicit sexual contact with minors in a foreign place and one count of traveling from Miami to Haiti for that purpose. He faces up to 30 years in prison on each of the charges at his May 5 sentencing before U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz.

Before trial started with jury selection in early February, prosecutors told Judge Leibowitz that they made a plea offer to Geilenfeld but he rejected it, asking the judge to note that in case the defendant makes any appeals or attacks on his conviction.

Geilenfeld faced six of his accusers on the witness stand over the three-week trial.

The government opened with the testimony of a young man who had lived at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys. He testified that when he was 12, Geilenfeld brought him into his bedroom to help him learn a prayer. But instead, he said, Geilenfeld sat him down in a chair and kissed him on the mouth, fondled his genitals and tried to have anal sex.

“His pants were down and his penis was rubbing against my behind,” the 28-year-old man testified through a Creole interpreter, saying that he “pushed him” and “ran outside” the owner’s bedroom. Geilenfeld later told him “not to tell anybody else about this,” the man testified.

The man was among six Haitian boys who accused the orphanage founder of sexually abusing them while they resided at St. Joseph’s between 2005 and 2010, according to an indictment filed by prosecutors Lacee Monk, Eduardo Palomo and Jessica Urban. The boys, then between 9 and 13, are now in their 20s.

PREYED ON THE BOYS: PROSECUTOR

Prosecutors portrayed Geilenfeld as a predator who used his powers to prey on the vulnerable Haitian boys, who came from broken families or had no parents. Geilenfeld, who founded St. Joseph’s orphanage in 1985, offered the boys a life of shelter, schooling, meals, chores and prayers that turned into a “nightmare,” they said.

Defense attorneys Raymond D’Arsey Houlihan III and Jean-Pierre Gilbert argued that Geilenfeld abused no boys at St. Joseph’s, saying that the six minor victims named in the indictment were recruited and paid off with money and the opportunity of asylum in the United States.

But during his testimony, the first former St. Joseph’s resident questioned by prosecutors detailed how Geilenfeld sexually abused him in the owner’s bedroom behind a locked door and that he was coming forward to testify because it was his right. He said he was not paid or promised any benefit by anyone for his testimony.

“I was ashamed at what had happened to me,” the man testified, recalling that when he talked with other residents about the alleged sexual abuse, he was stabbed by a St. Joseph’s boy close to Geilenfeld. Prosecutors showed an image in court of the man’s scar from the stab wound near his left collarbone.

“I’m very sad and I hope to get justice,” he testified. “I’m a victim. It’s my right to testify.”

COLORADO ARREST

The federal investigation into Geilenfeld’s past was launched by Homeland Security Investigations and joined by the FBI, leading to his arrest in January of last year in Colorado.Although Geilenfeld was granted a bond by a magistrate judge to stay in a halfway house, that decision was put on hold.

In April, Leibowitz, the federal judge in Miami, found that he should not be released before trial because he was a danger to the community and a flight risk to the Caribbean.

At that point, the U.S. criminal case changed significantly, with prosecutors filing a superseding indictment accusing Geilenfeld of “engaging in illicit sexual conduct” with minors at St. Joseph’s in addition to the original charge of traveling to Haiti for that purpose.

During a detention hearing, prosecutors said Geilenfeld “sexually abused 20 boys” at his orphanage and then threatened them not to say anything or they would be harmed.

PHOTOS DISCOVERED BY FEDS

Prosecutors said Geilenfeld kept a dossier with photos of his alleged sexual-abuse victims — evidence that was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in May 2019 when Geilenfeld was traveling through Miami International Airport to the Dominican Republic. The array of photos included pictures of a few of Geilenfeld’s victims cited in the indictment, according to prosecutors.

In court papers, prosecutors said Geilenfeld held “himself out as a missionary while using his position and privilege to sexually abuse young boys and cover up his crimes.”

Between the mid-1980s through 2014, Geilenfeld operated multiple orphanages in Haiti, including the St. Joseph’s home. He also opened a home in the Dominican Republic after fleeing there to escape sexual abuse allegations in Haiti, where he had been jailed and still has a court case pending.

The Haitian government closed the original St. Joseph’s home in Port-au-Prince in 2014 following Geilenfeld’s arrest there over sexual abuse allegations. After Geilenfeld spent a year in jail on suspicion of charges of indecent assault and criminal conspiracy, his case was dismissed by a judge after his alleged victims didn’t appear at a key hearing. The victims filed an appeal. Though it was granted, the case has yet to be retried.

Allegations of sexual abuse have followed Geilenfeld for more than a decade. After a children’s rights advocate, Paul Kendrick, and Haitian journalist Cyrus Sibert launched a campaign to have him arrested, Geilenfeld and a Raleigh, North Carolina, nonprofit group that supported his St. Joseph’s orphanage sued for defamation in federal court.

They initially won a judgment against Kendrick, who lives in Maine, but that was later vacated due to a lack of jurisdiction.

A second lawsuit was filed in state court in Maine by Geilenfeld and the nonprofit. Kendrick settled and his homeowner’s insurance policies paid the charity $3.5 million. Geilenfeld signed a document with the court dismissing all charges against him with no financial remuneration.

Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed to this story.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article300670584.html

American founder of Haiti orphanage faces men accusing him of sex abuse at Miami trial.-

American founder of Haiti orphanage faces men accusing him of sex abuse at Miami trial.-

By Jay Weaver February 05, 2025

Dozens of impoverished Haitian boys looked up to Michael Geilenfeld as a “father figure.”

But Geilenfeld, an American who owned and operated an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, looked down on them as objects to satisfy his sexual desires, prosecutors said during opening statements in his sex-abuse trial in Miami federal court on Tuesday.

A young man who had lived at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys testified that when he was 12, Geilenfeld brought him into his bedroom to help him learn a prayer. But instead, he said, Geilenfeld sat him down in a chair and kissed him on the mouth, fondled his genitals and tried to have anal sex.

“His pants were down and his penis was rubbing against my behind,” the 28-year-old man testified through a Creole interpreter, saying that he “pushed him” and “ran outside” the owner’s bedroom. Geilenfeld later told him “not to tell anybody else about this,” the man testified.

The man is among six Haitian boys who have accused the orphanage founder of sexually abusing them while they resided at St. Joseph’s between 2005 and 2010, according to an indictment. The boys, then between 9 and 13, are now in their 20s.

Geilenfeld, 73, is charged with six counts of engaging in illicit sexual contact in a foreign place and one count of traveling from Miami to Haiti for that purpose. If convicted by the 12-person jury, Geilenfeld faces up to 30 years in prison on each of the charges.

READ MORE: American founder of orphanage in Haiti is charged with having sex with minors.

Before trial started with jury selection on Monday, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz that they made a plea offer to Geilenfeld but he rejected it, asking the judge to note that in case the defendant makes any appeals or attacks on his conviction.

Preyed on the boys: Prosecutor

During opening statements on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk portrayed Geilenfeld as a predator who used his powers to prey on the vulnerable Haitian boys, who came from broken families or had no parents. Geilenfeld, who founded St. Joseph’s orphanage in 1985, offered the boys a life of shelter, schooling, meals, chores and prayers that turned into a “nightmare.” “This defendant preyed on the very boys he was supposed to help,” Monk told the jury. “They will tell you that this defendant was not the caring missionary he pretended to be. ... Many of the victims suffered in silence. ... They are going to tell you about some of the darkest moments in their lives.”

No boys abused: Defense

Defense attorney Jean-Pierre Gilbert argued that Geilenfeld abused no boys at St. Joseph’s, saying that the six minor victims named in the indictment were recruited and paid off with money and the opportunity of asylum in the United States.

“No abuse ever occurred,” said Gilbert, with the federal public defender’s office, noting there is “no forensic evidence” to prove it. He said defense witnesses, including other boys and a social worker at St. Joseph’s, will testify that Geilenfeld never touched any of the residents improperly.

But during his testimony, the first former St. Joseph’s resident questioned by prosecutors detailed how Geilenfeld sexually abused him in the owner’s bedroom behind a locked door and that he was coming forward to testify because it was his right. He said he was not paid or promised any benefit by anyone for his testimony.

“I was ashamed at what had happened to me,” the man testified on Tuesday, recalling that when he talked with other residents about the alleged sexual abuse, he was stabbed by a St. Joseph’s boy close to Geilenfeld. Prosecutors showed an image in court of the man’s scar from the stab wound near his left collarbone.

“I’m very sad and I hope to get justice,” he testified. “I’m a victim. It’s my right to testify.”

Colorado arrest

The federal investigation into Geilenfeld’s past was launched by Homeland Security Investigations and joined by the FBI, leading to his arrest in January of last year in Colorado. Although Geilenfeld was granted a bond by a magistrate judge to stay in a halfway house, that decision was put on hold.

In April, Leibowitz, the federal judge in Miami, found that he should not be released before trial because he was a danger to the community and a flight risk to the Caribbean.

At that point, the U.S. criminal case changed significantly, with prosecutors filing a superseding indictment accusing Geilenfeld of “engaging in illicit sexual conduct” with minor boys at St. Joseph’s in addition to the original charge of traveling to Haiti for that purpose.

During a detention hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eduardo Palomo said Geilenfeld “sexually abused 20 boys” at his orphanage and then threatened them not to say anything or they would be harmed.

Photos discovered by feds

Palomo said Geilenfeld kept a dossier with photos of his alleged sexual-abuse victims — evidence that was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in May 2019 when Geilenfeld was traveling through Miami International Airport to the Dominican Republic. The array of photos included pictures of a few of Geilenfeld’s victims cited in the indictment, Palomo said.

In court papers, prosecutors said Geilenfeld held “himself out as a missionary while using his position and privilege to sexually abuse young boys and cover up his crimes.”

Between the mid-1980s through 2014, Geilenfeld operated multiple orphanages in Haiti, including the St. Joseph’s home. He also opened a home in the Dominican Republic after fleeing there to escape sexual abuse allegations in Haiti, where he had been jailed and still has a court case pending.

The original St. Joseph’s home in Port-au-Prince was closed by the Haitian government in 2014 following Geilenfeld’s arrest there over sexual abuse allegations. After Geilenfeld spent a year in jail on suspicion of charges of indecent assault and criminal conspiracy, his case was dismissed by a judge after his alleged victims didn’t appear at a key hearing. The victims filed an appeal. Though it was granted, the case has yet to be retried.

Allegations of sexual abuse have followed Geilenfeld for more than a decade. After a children’s rights advocate, Paul Kendrick, and Haitian journalist Cyrus Sibert launched a campaign to have him arrested, Geilenfeld and a Raleigh, North Carolina, nonprofit group that supported his St. Joseph’s orphanage sued for defamation in federal court.

They initially won a judgment against Kendrick, who lives in Maine, but that was later vacated due to a lack of jurisdiction.

A second lawsuit was filed in state court in Maine by Geilenfeld and the nonprofit. Kendrick settled and his homeowner’s insurance policies paid the charity $3.5 million. Geilenfeld, he said, signed a document with the court dismissing all charges against him with no financial remuneration. Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed to this story.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article299765334.html