A former Colorado resident who founded an orphanage in Haiti has been found guilty of sexually abusing boys under his care, a federal jury in Miami concluded yesterday. Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, established St. Joseph's Home for Boys in 1985, presenting it as a refuge for orphaned and disadvantaged children in Haiti. However, evidence from the trial revealed a more sinister reality, as Geilenfeld was convicted on one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in such conduct in a foreign place.
Throughout the trial, the court heard harrowing testimony from the victims, with each of the six counts pertaining to specific survivors who were children when the abuse occurred. The six boys took the stand to detail their experiences, and four additional victims also testified about the abuse they endured, despite not being direct subjects of the charged offenses. Sentencing for Geilenfeld is set for May 5, and he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the seven counts against him, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
The investigation was a joint effort conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Miami and the FBI Miami Field Office. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative started in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the widespread issue of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to more effectively pinpoint and prosecute offenders as well as assist the victims in such cases. For more details on Project Safe Childhood, you can visit their website. Those interested can find related court documents and further information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or at the Public Access to Court Electronic Records service under case number 24-cr-20008.
