US Man Gets 210 Years In Jail For Sexually Abusing Children At His Orphanage

A Colorado man was sentenced to 210 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing multiple children at an orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti.

Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, who most recently resided in Littleton, founded St. Joseph's Home for Boys in 1985. The facility served as a home for orphaned, impoverished and vulnerable children in the region, read a May 23 press release from the US Department of Justice.

Geilenfeld operated the orphanage for more than 20 years. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial, the man would visit Haiti frequently. At this facility, he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care. 

He is also said to have physically and emotionally abused multiple children.

At least six men, who were between 9 and 13 years of age when they resided at the St. Joseph's Home for Boys between 2005 and 2010, testified against their abuser, according to Fox10 News.

All of them were abused by Geilenfeld, leaving a "devastating impact" on them, the official release from the Office of Public Affairs said.

Besides the physical abuse inflicted on the victims, the witnesses talked about the manipulation Geilenfeld employed to make sure the orphanage remained afloat and financially supported by others.

In February this year, Geilenfeld was found guilty of one count of travelling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct at a foreign place. These incidents took place between 2005 and 2010.

Each of the six counts of illicit sexual conduct is related to a separate victim, according to reports. All of these victims were children at the time of the assault.

The matter was investigated by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in close coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said, "The defendant's sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable."

Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division noted the case was built on the "courage of survivors and the dedication of investigators".