COLORADO, CMC – A United States citizen has appeared in court on a charge of traveling to Haiti with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18 on the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
According to court documents and information disclosed in open court, between 2006 and 2010, Michael Geilenfeld, 71, originally of Iowa, is alleged to have traveled from Miami International Airport to Haiti multiple times to engage in sexual acts with minors.
The prosecution alleges that while in Haiti, Geilenfeld operated the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, a residence which served economically disadvantaged children in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Multiple individuals who lived at the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys reported that Geilenfeld sexually abused them when they were under the age of 18.
Geilenfeld was arrested on January 20 in Colorado. He is charged with one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
Geilenfeld’s detention hearing is scheduled to resume on February 1.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are investigating the case that has been brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department.
Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
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