Colorado man sentenced to 210 years in prison after sexually abusing boys in orphanage he founded
A 73-year-old Colorado man was sentenced to 210 years in federal prison on Friday after a federal jury in Florida convicted him of charges related to his sexual abuse of boys in an orphanage he started and ran in Haiti.
Michael Karl Geilenfeld started the St. Joseph's Home for Boys in 1985 and ran the orphanage for over 20 years, investigators said. During that time, he flew back and forth between the U.S. and Haiti multiple times and physically and sexually abused at least six boys in his care. He was convicted in February of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
"The defendant's sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable," Matthew Galeotti, head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, said in a statement. "This prosecution demonstrates the Department's commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes. We thank our partners for working with us to ensure that the defendant can never harm another child."
Michael Geilenfeld, following his arrest in Colorado in 2024.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Six of the victims, who were minors at the time of the abuse but are now adults, testified at Geilenfeld's trial. Additional victims testified, but prosecutors say Geilenfeld was only charged for his actions against six of them.
Geilenfeld, originally from Iowa, was arrested in Littleton in January 2024.
Geilenfeld operated several orphanages in Haiti until 2014, according to the Miami Herald, and opened another in the Dominican Republic.
U.S. citizen Michael Karl Geilenfeld waits in handcuffs as the manager of his orphanage sits with him in the back of a police truck outside the St. Joseph's Home For Boys after police closed it down in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014. Geilenfeld, who founded the boy's orphanage in 1985, was taken into custody on charges including indecent assault, according to authorities. The children had been previously removed from the orphanage, according to Port-au-Prince General Prosecutor Charles Kerson.
Dieu Nalio Chery / AP
Prosecutors and investigators celebrated the conviction and Friday's sentence.
"This sentencing marks the end of a case built on the courage of survivors and the dedication of investigators," Jose A. Perez, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said. "For decades, Geilenfeld used his position of trust and access to exploit vulnerable children under the guise of humanitarian work. We are grateful to those victims who came forward to report their abuse. The FBI is committed to pursuing those who commit crimes against children no matter where they occur or how long ago they were committed."
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