At Fairfield University, praise for Perlitz replaced with silence. Genevieve Reilly, Staff Writer Published: 11:02 p.m., Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1 of 2 View: Larger | Hide Douglas Perlitz, Fairfield University President Father Jeffrey von Arx, and Dr. Paul Farmer at the school's Fall convocation on September 8, 2006. On Wednesday August 18, 2010, Douglas Perlitz pleaded guilty to one charge involving the sexual abuse of a minor boy. Perlitz will be sentenced on Dec. 21. Photo: File Photo / Connecticut Post File Photo FAIRFIELD -- As word got out that Douglas Perlitz had admitted in court Wednesday that he sexually abused eight boys at the Haitian school for street boys he founded, no comment came from the administration at the university that nurtured the 1992 graduate's sense of service and ministry. Paul Kendrick, a Fairfield University alumnus, came to know Rev. Paul Carrier, a charismatic Jesuit priest. Paul Kendrick, a 1972 graduate now advocates for people sexually abused by the clergy. Photo: CP, Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post | Buy This Photo Fairfield University spokesman Nancy Habetz said because "it is a legal matter, the university has no comment on it." But Fairfield alumni Paul Kendrick, class of 1972, was as outspoken as he has been for the last two years. "My first thoughts went to the boys in Haiti," Kendrick said, "who are suffering from the abuse." Kendrick said he applauded the efforts of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's office in New Haven. "We should be proud, I think, all of us, that we're now making a bold statement that American citizens will be held accountable for the sexual abuse of children no matter where in the world they commit those crimes." He was not proud of his alma mater, however. "Disgraceful," Kendrick said. In the last two years, he said, neither the university, the Jesuits nor the Order of Malta have contributed any emotional or financial support to Perlitz's victims. He and other victims' advocates have raised about $6,000 over the last couple of months to provide some food, clothing and shelter for the boys who had attended Perlitz's school. "For two years, they have done nothing," Kendrick said. Project Pierre Toussaint was created in 1997 in Cap-Haitien by Perlitz to provide education and shelter to young Haitian boys. Though the project was not affiliated with the college, donations to the project's financial arm, the Haiti Fund, had been made by, and through, Fairfield University. The Rev. Paul Carrier, who for 18 years was the university's chaplain and director of campus ministry, helped raise funds through Sunday Mass collections at Egan Chapel. He also served as chairman of the Haiti Fund board of directors. Perlitz had been widely admired at the university, serving as the school's commencement speaker in 2002. From 1997 to 2007, the university helped raise $775,000 for Project Pierre Toussaint, according to a report commissioned by the school. Of that amount, about $120,000 could not be accounted for. Hope Carter, listed on state records as the Haiti Fund's secretary, was not available for comment. A call to the law offices of Tisdale & Lennon LLC, the agent for the charity, was not returned. In a blog published on the Connecticut Post's website earlier this year, the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, Fairfield University's president, wrote that he had discussions with members of the fund's board of directors "to explore how we can facilitate a partnership with charitable organizations on the group to reopen the facilities in Cap-Haitien." While he said any decision to reopen was up to the directors, "we will continue to work with it to help reopen the facilities." In September 2009, the university's board of trustees hired Day Pitney LLP to conduct an internal inquiry about the extent of Fairfield University's knowledge of the allegations against Perlitz and the nature and extent of the school's financial relationship with Perlitz, Project Pierre Toussaint and the Haiti Fund. According to the report, the university administration first learned of the sexual misconduct allegations on May 2, 2008, when a representative from the Haiti Fund called von Arx with the information. While there was a perception that the university was affiliated with Perlitz, Pierre Toussaint and the Haiti Fund, the university had no legal or fiduciary relationship with those entities, the report states.