Colorado man sentenced to 210 years in prison for abusing children at orphanage
A Colorado man who founded a Haitian orphanage four decades ago is set to spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of sexually, physically, and emotionally abusing multiple children under his organization's care.
Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, of Littleton, was sentenced to 210 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of several counts committed at the St. Joseph's Home for Boys in the Caribbean, the Department of Justice announced on May 23. He was arrested in Colorado back in January 2024.
Geilenfeld was convicted last February of one count of traveling in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, as well as six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, the Justice Department confirmed in a news release.
Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct relates to six separate victims who were children at the orphanage between 2005 and 2010. All six victims, now adults, testified against Geilenfeld as well as other former child victims who were not subject to the related charges.
"For decades, Geilenfeld used his position of trust and access to exploit vulnerable children under the guise of humanitarian work," FBI Assistant Director Jose A. Perez said in a news release. "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."
USA TODAY reached out to attorneys listed as Geilenfeld's representatives for comment.
In 1985, Geilenfeld founded the St. Joseph's Home for Boys, which he operated for more than 20 years, according to the Justice Department. He repeatedly traveled back and forth from the U.S to Haiti, where he sexually abused the children at the orphanage entrusted to his care, prosecutors said.
Geilenfeld also physically and emotionally abused the children in the home through physical assault and other forms of punishment, prosecutors said. Victims and witnesses testified that Geilenfeld implemented manipulation tactics to ensure his orphanage was financially supported.
"The defendant's sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable," said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
How to protect minors from sexual abuse: The predator is usually someone you know
One of the men who testified in the case said he was 12 years old when Geilengeld abused him, the Miami Herald reported.
The man testified that Geilenfeld brought him into his bedroom so he could "help him learn a prayer" but instead proceeded to sit him down in a chair, kiss him on the mouth, fondle his genitals and tried to have sexual relations with him, according to the Miami Herald.
Geilenfeld reportedly operated multiple orphanages in Haiti until 2014 and opened another one in the Dominican Republic, the Miami Herald reported.
In 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents found photos of the victims when Geilenfeld was traveling through Miami International Airport to the Dominican Republic, court records obtained by USA TODAY show.
Investigators told the judge some of the photos showed victims in the indictment, which they said Geilenfeld planned to use to "intimidate victims to not testify against him." It's unclear whether the photos were sexually explicit.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado man gets 210 years in prison for abusing minors at orphanage
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