The American founder of a Haitian orphanage has been ordered extradited from Colorado to Florida to face prosecution after being accused of sexually abusing four boys there more than a decade ago.
Michael Geilenfeld, 71, was charged in Florida with traveling from Miami to Haiti between 2010 and 2016 “for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with another person under the age of 18.” , was arrested in Colorado on January 20th. If convicted, the suspect faces up to 30 years in prison.
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In a court order signed Tuesday and released Wednesday, a federal judge in Denver said U.S. marshals should bring Mr. Geilenfeldt to authorities in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. The order did not explain why.
Earlier this month, Magistrate Judge Scott Verholak ruled that Geilenfeld could be released from a federal prison outside Denver and live in a half-house in Colorado while he faces charges. was lowered. But federal prosecutors appealed his decision in Florida. Verholak halted the order from taking effect until a Florida judge rules on the issue.
Mr. Geilenfeld’s attorney in Colorado, Brian Reedy, was not available and did not immediately return an email seeking comment about the order or the allegations against Mr. Geilenfeld. Robert Oberketter, a Massachusetts attorney who also represents Mr. Geilenfeld, did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
Geilenfeld, who faces past accusations of child abuse, told Valhorak at one court hearing that he was kept in isolation and only left his cell for two hours each morning.
Michael Geilenfeld arrives at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland, Maine on July 9, 2015. Geilenfeld, an American who founded a Haitian orphanage, is accused of sexually abusing four boys there more than a decade ago and has been extradited from Colorado to Florida to face prosecution. It was done. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bucati)
At Geilenfeld’s recent hearing, Reedy said Geilenfeld has a “large community of individuals” who have supported him for 20 years and who have helped him get back and forth from court in Florida. ”, he said.
Prosecutors argued Geilenfeld, who is accused of abusing about 20 children over several decades, could try to intimidate the victims if released. It also said that given his age, he is a flight risk as he could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
Valhorak said the charges against Geilenfeldt are “beyond the point,” but the government does not believe he actually threatened anyone or committed any abuse after the time alleged in the indictment. He said he had not provided sufficient details to show that he had done so.
Haitian authorities arrested Geilenfeld in September 2014 based on a complaint by Maine child advocate Paul Kendrick. After speaking with young people who said they had been abused by Geilenfeld as children in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, where Geilenfeld founded an orphanage in 1985, Kendrick called him a serial pedophile. He accused her of being a sex lover.
Geilenfeld called the allegations “vicious and despicable lies,” and the case was dismissed in 2015 after he spent 237 days in prison in Haiti.
He and Hearts for Haiti, a charity associated with the orphanage, sued Kendrick in federal court in Maine, accusing him of Geilenfeld’s imprisonment, defamation, and the loss of millions of dollars in donations.
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Kendrick’s insurance company settled the case in 2019 by paying Hearts with Haiti $3 million, but not paying Geilenfeld anything.
