Haiti: Let Us Stop the Sexual Abuse of Haitian Children by Foreigners (by Stanley Lucas)

Haiti: Let Us Stop the Sexual Abuse of Haitian Children by Foreigners (by Stanley Lucas) www.solutionshaiti. blogspot.com  Letter from Stanley Lucas to: Haitian Minister for the Social Affairs and Managing Director of the Good Social Being (IBESR)   There exists a worldwide network of sex offenders that prey on innocent children throughout the world.  Pedophiles tracked by the official legal system and institutions of their countries travel internationally particularly to countries where social and legal structures are less sophisticated, and less able to protect the children.  Haiti is squarely on the list of favored destinations for these criminals. The Haitian children suffer as a result.    Douglas Perlitz, a 39 year old American, has sexually abused Haitian children –specifically in the northern part of the country – for the past 10 year.  Mr. Perlitz operated the Pierre Toussaint school in Haiti.  See attached photo of Mr. Perlitz and his school.     Haiti is home to an countless sexual predators.  Some are even de-robed priests. I write to you to urge you to take the following urgent measures:   1. In the United States, the names of convicted sexual predators are made publicly available.  Their names are published by each state and when a convicted predator moves into a neighborhood with children, they are required to inform neighbors.  They are also required to register with the police and are not allowed to live within a certain proximity of schools.  The Foreign Ministry should collect the names of these criminals through our embassies.  Once obtained, this list should be communicated to Haitian Immigration services and their entry into the country should be barred.  Stopping them at the border should be the simplest and most effective line of defense. I am sure that the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince and others will be willing to help.   2. Work with the Ministry of Justice to create a special section specializing in sexual abuse and sexual predators.   3. Take measures to reinforce the capacity of social services section of the Institute of the Good Social Being (IBESR).  There should be an immediate revision of the requirements and legal authorizations to open an orphanage, a children's school (in cooperation with the Ministry of Education), adoption proceedings, and other institutional processes related to children.   4. A rigid system of supervision for these above mentionned institutions must be set up immediately.   5.  The Institute of the Good Social Being should open a hotline for people to report suspicious behavior.  There should also be a media campaign to make the public aware of the hotline – and the new plans to stop sexual predators more broadly.   6. To work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish – through the embassies – a 10-year period of supervision for adopted Haitian children.  This clause should be included in the adoption certificates.   7. Require our embassies to do a background check on foreign citizens in their home countries to determine that they have no police records domestically.  The adoption authorities should also run a check through Interpol.   8. Work with civil society organizations to help them find funding from the international community to stop these abuses. 9. Work with Parliament to increase funding to the Institute of the Good Social Being (IBESR)   10. Parliament should work with the Ministry of Social Affairs to draft a new law governing adoption and social institutions in Haiti.   Our country owes a special thanks to the journalist Cyrus Sibert.  It is thanks to his dedication and perseverance that the children can speak out about this tragic injustice.  He has brought the necessary public attention to this important issue. Following his articles, the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince launched an immediate investigation into Mr. Perlitz and the issue more broadly. The Northern Chamber of Commerce and all responsible citizens should thank and honor him.   Thank you Cyrus.