ABC News -- Please report on this again. http://www.istwanouayisyen.com
December 14th, 2012 – 5:50 PM
Haiti travelers,
Three nights ago in Haiti, Bill Nathan attacked a man named "yyy" with a machete. (I have deleted names for their protection). Bill Nathan was arraigned in court yesterday, and he is currently in jail in Haiti.
I ate lunch with a man today, who is also a graduate of St. Joseph's. He told me that Mike Geilenfeld has offered yyy (the victim) money to drop any charges against Nathan so he can get out of jail.
yyy has defensive marks on his body; that is to say, his forearms and head have slashes. He was using his arms to protect himself.
------------------------------------------
Email Quote I received the news in an email, copied to me on December 12 at 1:30 PM. The originator of the email is a person in Haiti. I have blanked the sender's name out. The sender is a friend of the victim and lives in Haiti:
From xxx...
I am at this moment at the police station in petion ville with one of the victims and Bill Nathan who harmed him with manchet.
Will keep you update.
---------------------------------------------
Email Quote from a person that travels to Haiti multiple times each year. I have blanked identifying information out from the email:
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Email quote I received, 12/14/2012, today 8 Am hour
UPDATE
Michael Geilenfeld's attempts to bribe judge and Haitian police fail.
Bill Nathan to be arraigned today.
Nathan is Geilenfeld's number two man in Haiti.
Nathan tried to kill a man whom Nathan accused of posting news clippings about Geilenfeld's history of sexually abusing children.
Visitors to Haiti are being warned to stay away from St. Joseph's Family of Homes.
------------------------------------------
I do not know what St. Joseph is saying about this incident. If any of you feel moved to ask the "St. Joseph Family" what they believe happened, please share with me what you learn.
Many of you do not believe that Michael Geilenfeld is capable of sexually abusing the children. As you know, I have believed that this allegation is most likely true for quite some time now.
I spent many hours contacting people all over North America and in Haiti, to see if I could ascertain the truth. After many hours, I came to the conclusion that Michael Geilenfeld, at
minimum, needs to leave Haiti while all these allegations, 26 + years of allegations, are investigated.
Some of you may know that the US and Haitian government have been investigating Mr. Geilenfeld. They have reported, apparently, that no one in Haiti is talking about sexual abuse
committed by Geilenfeld. The victims that have somehow been able to leave Haiti are speaking about their abuse, but no one in Haiti is. Perhaps they are afraid of being attacked with
a machete if they speak the truth.
Just today, at lunch, the young man I ate with told me that a Haitian friend of his that lives in North Carolina is advising him to stop speaking out about Geilenfeld's sexual abuse because
it is becoming too dangerous. Bill Nathan attacking this man with a machete seems adequate proof that this fear of being harmed is a real one, if you live in Haiti. I would not have the
courage to speak up if I were a sexual abuse victim, if I knew I would be hurt for talking.
I implore each and every one of you to take the time to read the material I have shared with all of you. You can find the material at http://www.istwanouayisyen.com. Please spend time with it.
Make the phone calls. Contact Cyrus Siebert in Haiti. Talk to people on different sides of this. Confirm for yourself that Bill Nathan did attack this person with a machete.
We have all met these children. We owe it to them to not shut ourselves out from these unpleasant realities.
The young people, some of whom are now in their 40s now, who have suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld's sexual abuse, are going to need help. Michael Geilenfeld has told the victims that
"if I go down, I am going to take all of you with me." I am compelled to try and help these victims. I hope you are to. If Michael Geilenfeld is arrested, and he does fulfill his promise to take
the Haitian children he has been "helping" down with him, they will need our help. I hope you will join in that effort.
One of our Atlanta neighbors had this to say about stopping to help someone who is hurt:
"And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around.
Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to
seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked -- the first question that the
Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question:
'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'"
Will you please stop on this dangerous road with me.
Robert Bryan Davis
Excerpt below from Martin Luther King's "Mountaintop speech". Entire text can be read at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base....
Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother.
Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem -- or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect.
But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles -- or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked -- the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
11/10/2011 10:05:37 PM
ABC News
77 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023
Dear Sir / Madam:
Dan Harris of ABC News wrote an article entitled "Haitian Man Who Rescues Boys in Trouble Rescued From Haiti's Devastation" on January 17, 2010. The story was about a man Bill Nathan, whom I have met and spent some time with.
Mr. Nathan works at St. Joseph's Home for Boys, located in Port au Prince, Haiti. Mike Geilenfeld founded the orphanage in 1985. Mike Geilenfeld is still the Executive Director of St. Joseph's Home for Boys. I have visited the orphanage twice - October 2010, and October 2011. When I returned recently, I found the following posted on the internet:
Haiti - Pedophil : One more testimony of Michael Geilenfeld's victims.
There have been sexual abuse allegations going back to the 1980s regarding Mike Geilenfeld at St. Joseph's Home for Boys. Yet the allegations are always explained away, and nothing has been done. I don't know if these allegations are true or not, yet none of the foundations supporting Mr. Geilenfeld are willing to start an investigation. He is doing too much 'good' in their eyes; how could he be sexually abusing the children. However, two or three men have recently been convicted of sexual abuse in Haiti. John Duarte was looked upon as somewhat messianic by his followers. Yet he was abusing children. As was Doug Perlitz in Cape Hatien. I fear Mr. Geilenfeld might be doing the same.
I urge you to speak with Don Lajoie of the Windsor Star (Canada). He wrote extensively about John Duarte in Canada. I have spoken with him; he said he heard about Geilenfeld as soon as he started writing about Duarte.
I have corresponded with a lot of people, read a lot of articles regarding Mike Geilenfeld's possible sexual abuse. It seems that sexual abuse is a horrible problem in Haiti. People are so bad off, that if they are fed, or housed, or schooled, they put up with sexual abuse, so they can survive.
This is not right. I fear this is going on all over the world. Well-meaning people give millions of dollars to help people all around the globe. Yet there may be a lot of 'humanitarians' who collect this money, help people, but sexually abuse the vulnerable for their own pleasure / sickness.
I urge ABC News to do a series on this problem. John Duarte was literally a little lower than a messiah in Labadie, Haiti. He brought medicine, built schools, was a doctor, judge, mayor, priest, confidant, sheriff, .... all wrapped up into one. He brought millions of dollars over the years into the economy in Labadie. But he was a sex offender. No amount of saintliness can make up for abusing a child. This must be stopped.
Mr. Harris wrote about Ben Skinner, who wrote about modern slavery several years ago. He met Bill Nathan in Haiti, and he is a supporter of Saint Joseph's. Like others who have become intimate with St. Joseph's home for boys, I believe he refuses to entertain the thought that Mike Geilenfeld could be abusing children. Hearts with Haiti and the Haitian Timoun Foundation refuse to believe that Mike Geilenfeld could be abusing children. Father John Unni, Priest at St. Cecelia's in Boston, Ma, resigned from the Hearts With Haiti board because they refused to investigate Mr. Geilenfeld. St. Joseph's says these allegations are produced by satan, and amounts to spiritual warfare. They also claim that all allegations of sexual abuse made by the children are false; that the children are transferring their experience of sexual abuse before they got to the orphanage to a safe person in Mike Geilenfeld. St. Joseph's also claims that the children are manipulating well-meaning people so they can leave Haiti and go to the United States. I believe Geilenfeld's supporters are well-meaning people, but if these allegations are true, they are blinded by the 'good works' that are being done in Haiti.
Please look into this. See my correspondence with Ben Skinner below. Additionally, I will send you some more documentation in another email, as the document is too large to fit with this email.
Thank you.
R Bryan Davis
Atlanta, GA
404-567-5906
11/10/2011 5:40:57 PM
Dear Mr. Skinner:
I hope you have had a good trip; your associate, Ms. Elsner, tells me you were to be back at Brandeis approximately a week from 11/3.
Please do read my communication. I would appreciate your response. I do encourage you not to simply stay silent in response to my inquiry.
I continued to be amazed at people's refusal to acknowledge the smallest possibility that these sexual abuse allegations could be true. The common response seems to be:
This is impossible. There is so much good being done at the St. Joseph Family of orphanages. How could sexual abuse of children exist at such a place?
We just saw such a case again. A man in his 60s at Penn State University has just been charged with sexually abusing children for 10 years at least; probably more. I believe today, this same man is being accused of pimping these children to rich donors. This man has a successful foundation that helps young people. Apparently millions of dollars have been raised and that money is helping youth. That foundation also gave Sandusky access to youth whenever he wanted it. Sandusky was observed assaulting a pre teen in a shower over 10 years ago. But they found a way to cover it up.
Madden: Sandusky a State secret
Penn State Scandal: Rumor Claims Sandusky "Pimped Out" Boys to Rich Donors
Please don't contribute to covering up these sexual abuse allegations. Don't turn a blind eye. Use your journalist eye, not your emotional eye. Talk to Mr. Lajoie of the Windsor Star in Canada. Call up Hearts Together For Haiti board members. No one knows the truth here. But there is one outstanding truth. Boys that have been a part of the St. Joseph's family have been complaining since 1985 about sexual abuse occurring at St. Josephs. This is not satan. This is not the devil. What is satan is ignoring these repeated allegations and not calling for a thorough and documented investigation by US and Hatian authorities. There is too much at stake.
R Bryan Davis
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/3/2011 2:48:58 PM
Hi Ms. Elsner, Mr. Skinner,
I imagine Mr. Skinner is very familiar with the allegations. I understand he is part of the St. Joseph's family in that he has been visiting quite often. These allegations have disturbed me deeply, because of the experience I had while in Haiti. The missions have accomplished great things. But no matter how great the accomplishment, nothing can justify sexually abusing children. If this is happening, perpetrated by whomever, it must be stopped.
I have attached a portfolio PDF file that has some communication that I have received and sent regarding the sexual abuse allegations. Download Adobe X in order to view it.
As I wrote to Mr. Skinner earlier, I want these allegations to be untrue. However, to be sure they are untrue, an investigation, I believe, is necessary. The waters are too murky. For instance, I have been told from more than one source (Canadian journalist, child advocates) that there is no regular orphanage inspection regimen in Haiti. One person told me that they know of an orphanage that has not been inspected in 20 years. I found a document on the internet that claimed the child agency in Haiti has enough funding to investigate 6 sexual abuse allegations a year. That is not a lot of capacity. I have not seen a government produced document from the IBSER that documents a hearing regarding the events in 1990, centered around the event called the 'coup'. This hearing, it is claimed, exonerated Mike. However, there have been accusations later than 1990 regarding events occurring after 1990. Even if exonerated by a hearing in 1990, this hearing does not cover allegations about events that occurred after 1990.
This is a messy situation. Thus, I am advocating for a criminal investigation by joint Haitian / American effort. I believe the American officials must be involved because an American may possibly be involved. Plus, it is well documented that Haitians overlook humanitarian efforts that may involve sexual abuse. As in the case of Perlitz or Duarte, they brought so much good to their communities, each for 10 years or more. People were fed, obtained medicine, housing, education...... But both were sexually abusing. I am not sure if Perlitz has been convicted, but I know Duarte has. So I can say with surety that Duarte was committing this crime; he confessed to it (Windsor Star).
As I write below, perhaps someone, or some other persons in the St. Joseph's community, other than M Geilenfeld, could be committing these crimes. Only an investigation will shed light on this.
I had the opportunity to speak with Father Unni. He told me he is in no way accusatory of MG. He loves MG. As I think a lot of people do, obviously. As well as I can, I love MG. However, if he has the sickness of committing sexual abuse, this needs to be found out and stopped. The truth is not known yet. In order for these great things that have been accomplished to continue into the future without blemish, these repeated allegations of sexual abuse need to be investigated so whomever might be perpetrating sexual abuse at the St. Joseph community can be found out and removed.
I have copied Mr. Skinner on this email. I pray that God embrace all people involved - the children, adults that may possibly be committing sexual abuse, supporters throughout North America and beyond, people making allegations of sexual abuse against M Geilenfeld, child advocates that tend to berate people that won't listen to them, advocates that use more even language....everyone. There can be redemption in all this. I believe it.
When I ponder these allegations, I think about what is evil? Duarte was doing so much good, yet he was using his position of power, especially over young people, to sexually abuse children. No one knows for sure if Mike Geilenfeld has done this, except for Mike and possibly the children that have incurred sexual abuse. It seems that evil could be when so much good is being done, but behind it is something like sexual abuse. But I think there is a greater evil. That greater evil is when the adult community does not listen to the children, whether grown to adulthood, or still in their youth. When they are ignored, healing for these children is cut off, and the possibility for redemption for the perpetrator is cut off, and the veil gets even darker.
Thank you for replying.
R Bryan Davis
From: Sophie Elsner [mailto:selsner@brandeis.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 10:04 AM
To: Bryan Davis
Subject: Re: Benjamin Skinner - St. Joseph's Home for Boys - Allegations of Sexual Abuse - A Crime So Monstrous
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 10:04 AM
To: Bryan Davis
Subject: Re: Benjamin Skinner - St. Joseph's Home for Boys - Allegations of Sexual Abuse - A Crime So Monstrous
Mr. Davis,
My name is Sophie Elsner and I work with Ben Skinner. Ben has been out of the country for two weeks on a reporting trip and thus I have been checking this email address (although not very regularly) in his absence. He has not had the chance to see any of your emails yet.
When he returns to the country (likely in a week), I'm sure he would be very interested to learn more about the issues you have raised. In the mean time, it would be great if you could send any further documentation and other information that you have on Mr. Geilenfeld.
I apologize for the delay in responding to you, and I hope that you and Ben have the opportunity to discuss this further once he's back in internet/phone contact.
All best,
Sophie
My name is Sophie Elsner and I work with Ben Skinner. Ben has been out of the country for two weeks on a reporting trip and thus I have been checking this email address (although not very regularly) in his absence. He has not had the chance to see any of your emails yet.
When he returns to the country (likely in a week), I'm sure he would be very interested to learn more about the issues you have raised. In the mean time, it would be great if you could send any further documentation and other information that you have on Mr. Geilenfeld.
I apologize for the delay in responding to you, and I hope that you and Ben have the opportunity to discuss this further once he's back in internet/phone contact.
All best,
Sophie
On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 10:30 AM, Eric Skinner <bskinner@brandeis.edu> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bryan Davis <bdavis@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Subject: Benjamin Skinner - St. Joseph's Home for Boys - Allegations of Sexual Abuse - A Crime So Monstrous
To: bskinner@brandeis.edu
Cc: NPR_Response@npr.org
From: Bryan Davis <bdavis@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Subject: Benjamin Skinner - St. Joseph's Home for Boys - Allegations of Sexual Abuse - A Crime So Monstrous
To: bskinner@brandeis.edu
Cc: NPR_Response@npr.org
11/1/2011 11:29:22 PM +5 GMT
E. Benjamin Skinner
Senior Fellow
Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
Senior Fellow
Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
Author of: A Crime So Monstrous: Face to Face With Modern Day Slavery
Hi Mr. Skinner,
I have learned that you are not concerned about the sexual abuse allegations against Mike Geilenfeld. I took another look at the donor report from Hearts With Haiti and see that you are pictured in the document.
I want these allegations to be untrue. Can you return this email, and help me towards this end? The two main reasons the official St. Joseph's response document asserts seem thin to me (dated June 15, 2011):
We believe the new charges against Michael and the St. Joseph Family are based on two things. First of all, the
St. Joseph Family has always had its share of detractors. People, for whatever reasons of their own, who questioned
the integrity of the mission and of the people responsible for creating and leading the St. Joseph Family. We don't
know why they cannot see the good being done by the St. Joseph Family or why they seek to destroy the St. Joseph
Family, but we accept that they exist and will look for any excuse to start rumors or make trouble where they can. We
believe such actions by those detractors are instigated by the devil and creates a spiritual warfare. We pray for our detractors
that God will change their hearts, and we pray for our supporters that they are protected from embracing such
negativity.
The second reason that the charges of abuse come about is based on the history of the population that the St.
Joseph Family serves. The St. Joseph Family is made up primarily of children who spent part of their childhoods on
Joseph Family serves. The St. Joseph Family is made up primarily of children who spent part of their childhoods on
the street and/or children who were child slaves. In those situations they had to lie and manipulate in order to survive.
These tactics and habits, ingrained in their very beings, are hard to break, even after years in the supportive environment
of the St. Joseph Family, and even as they matured into adulthood. They know simply making charges of
abuse will get them attention and help them manipulate otherwise well-meaning people to giving them what they
want — whether it be money, power, the ability to live in the United States, or something else.
.......
.......
The St. Joseph Family also recognizes that when children with a history of abuse find themselves in a safe
place, they often are finally able to acknowledge internally and externally their past abuse, however how that takes
place is often not in truthful and accurate ways. Children with histories of abuse often accuse people in their lives they
feel safe with of abuse, abuse that was actually committed by others, because that is the only way they feel safe acknowledging
their past experiences. The unfortunate thing is that because of their circumstances prior to joining the St.
Joseph Family, many of the children did, in fact, experience abuse, so their stories are horrific and detailed and sound
credible. However, the details of who the true abusers were and the specific circumstances of abuse are not accurate,
but changed to suit their accusations.
The first reason: detractors who can't see the good that is being done, their actions being instigated by the devil. The devil is a spirit. We cannot talk with the devil. It is too easy an explanation. John Duarte, 'there was something messianic about the man'. From what I have read, Duarte probably out did Mike in the good things he created for the people of Cite Soleil and Labadie. However, he was recently convicted of sexually abusing minors in a court of law in Canada. He confessed to having sexually abused young people. He did so much good. He was priest, doctor, judge, mayor, friend, job creator, established schools, brought much needed medicine.... He did many amazing things. Yet he was sick and sexually abused children. No one can deny he did great things for the Haitian Community he was involved in. But it is not acceptable to sexually abuse children, no matter what you are doing for the world.
The second reason: the children are lying, manipulating, and transferring their allegations of sexual abuse and blaming a safe person, Mike Geilenfeld. Haiti is a different culture, of course. But the research here in the United States indicates that this transference of blame rarely happens. It happens in cases involving custody battle, yet that is not the case here. Is there research in Haiti that has found the opposite of studies in the US?
Darkness to Light (http://www.d2l.org), in their publication 7 Steps to Protecting Our Children says:
"Please note that child abuse allegations against Geilenfeld are documented as early as 1987 in Boston; 1990 in Haiti and the U.S.; 1995 in Detroit; 1997 in UK and Haiti; 1999 in Haiti; 2006-2007 in Haiti and U.S"
Paul Kellen, National Survivor Advocacy Coalition, 781-395-3628
Ruth Moore, Speak Truth to Power, 781-264-6519
Michael Sweatt, National Survivor Advocacy Coalition, 207-831-3791
The above people wrote the US Embassy in Haiti recently asserting documented sexual abuse allegations.
The children keep telling this story. According to Marc K Louis, children asserted sexual abuse at the hand of Mike Geilenfeld in Boston, and Mike came to him and Emile Millien for help, and Marc asserts they lied on Mike's behalf, and directed the children to go on the radio the next day and say they were lying. I understand that this Emile Millien is different from the Emile Millien who spoke with Father Unni and Paul Kendrick in the spring of this year. Can these testimonies be ignored?
Hearts With Haiti discounts all sexual abuse allegations: "Hearts with Haiti knows of no credible allegations that have been brought forward against Michael Geilenfeld."
I can accept this assertion. Perhaps Hearts with Haiti is correct. Suppose the children are transferring their allegations of sexual abuse to Mike Geilenfeld, their safe person. Then the question must be asked: is someone else perpetrating sexual abuse of young children in the St. Joseph family. We as adults, owe these children an investigation of their complaints. Maybe someone else in the community is doing this. If so, this will only be found out if an investigation is launched.
I believe you are close to Bill Nathan. I saw a picture of you and he in hospital, I imagine in the States. Did you help make his visit to hospital in the US possible? Wow, what a story that is.
Your being so close to the St. Joseph's community, these allegations have to be even tougher for you to take into your ear. To act on these allegations would probably be the toughest thing you might have ever done. I do urge you to take a chance though. Perhaps a joint Haitian / American criminal investigation will bring out someone in the community other than Geilenfeld that is perpetrating sexual abuse. No one will know until steps are taken. I think that the only way knowledge will be obtained is if someone close to the community urges an investigation. Whoever might be perpetrating sexual abuse must be prohibited from intimidating those that are alleging this offense. I would fear being thrown back on the street if I were one of these children. I imagine it is an easy task to intimidate any orphan, no matter what country, into not telling about sexual abuse; they could quickly be thrown back out onto the street. Although, there seem to be plenty of adults that have graduated from St. Josephs. Apparently there are more than a few that live in the United States, perhaps in other countries. All of these people could be questioned. Foreigners like me cannot do it. I have only been there twice. Yet if someone in the family is strong enough to take the chance, knowledge might be obtained. And the children will be protected.
Don Lajoie, a journalist in Windsor, Ontario and I spoke several days ago. He said this problem has been going on for years in Haiti, long before the earthquake in 2010. Duarte and Perlitz apparently were committing this crime as far back as the early 90s and late 80s. If this is going on at St. Josephs, it is time to stop it.
I think of your NPR interview on March 11, 2008, regarding your book - "A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery". You spoke of a negotiation you conducted in Haiti where you would have been able to buy a human being for $50. You ended the interview with these words:
It's one thing when you're planning an effort like this, a project like this to say this is a work of journalism - I'm not going to interfere with my subjects. It's another thing when you actually see in an underground brothel in Bucharest, a young woman who has the visible affect of down syndrome, who you know is being raped several times a day, and when this girl is offered to me in trade for a used car and when I walk away from that. That's not an easy thing to do. And to be honest it stays with me.
It seems the children at St. Joseph's continue to allege sexual abuse at the hands of Mike Geilenfeld. If St. Joseph's response letter is correct, perhaps they are all transferring their experience to their safe person, Mike Geilenfeld, but what if they are transferring the experience from someone else that is in the St. Joseph's community. Can we walk away from that? Can we walk away from allegations of Sexual Abuse - "A Crime So Monstrous - That's not an easy thing to do." If every adult ignores these warning signs, walks away from them, and sexual abuse is occurring within the St. Joseph's orphanages, some child may be being raped several times a day, just like the young girl in the underground brothel in Bucharest. And again you might find yourself saying "And to be honest, it stays with me."
Robert Bryan Davis
Atlanta, GA USA
404-567-5906 (office)
------------------------------------------------------------
10/31/2011 2:27:17 PM +4 GMT
E. Benjamin Skinner
Senior Fellow
Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
Senior Fellow
Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
Mr. Skinner:
I just listened to NPR coverage of your book "A Crime So Monstrous". I found an excerpt in your book where you told the story of Bill Nathan and how he survived a terrible fall during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. You were very complimentary of St. Josephs in the small excerpt I read.
I have recently returned from Haiti and a visit to St. Josephs Home for Boys, Wings of Hope, and Trinity House. I traveled with a group that visited for a week in October of 2010 as well. When we returned this year, I found disturbing allegations of sexual abuse against Michael Geilenfeld. Your book has come up in my searches as well. I did not, nor did any of my traveling companions, see indication that sexual abuse was occurring at these orphanages. It was a shock to see this posting on the internet (http://michaelgeilenfeld.blogspot.com/).
I have called and emailed many people on both sides of this - Hearts with Haiti and Haitian Timoun Foundation refuse to believe these allegations while child advocates choose to take the allegations very seriously. The St. Joseph's Family has categorically denied the allegations. Hearts With Haiti Foundation (located in North Carolina, USA) raised $500,000 in 2007, $250,000 in 2008, $400,000 in 2009, and $2 million in 2010 (see this report ). St. Joseph's has a $6 million capital campaign underway to rebuild two orphanages (St. Joseph's Home for Boys and Wings of Hope). Does it cost this much in Haiti to re-build two orphanages and to operate three?
After numerous conversations, whether by phone or email, I have been converted from a staunch advocate of Mike Geilenfeld into a person that is very concerned. I believe Mike Geilenfeld and the St. Joseph's orphanages need to be thoroughly investigated.
Are you familiar with these allegations? Have you investigated them from a journalists perspective? I just got off the phone with journalist, Don Lajoie of the Windsor (Canada) Star (519-255-6877). Mr. Lojoie wrote extensively about John Duarte. Lajoie began his work 4 years ago. Fr. Duarte was just convicted of child molestation in Haiti. 'There was something mesianic in the man...' according to Lajoie. Apparently he improved the lives of countless people in Haiti in the village of Labadie; however, for over 10 years, he sexually abused children. Duarte created "'exposure tours'. He would bring dozens of volunteers at a time to experience Haiti, in all its panoramic beauty and despair. The experience would change their lives. Many became disciples, spreading the word, showing their photos, encouraging others to get involved." Fallen Angels: Beloved Missionary build aid dynasty Don Lajoie | The Windsor Star, December 16, 2009. These 'exposure tours' sound very similar to what goes on at St. Joseph's. Church groups from all over the US and Canada visit St. Joseph's and they return home changed. And you leave sensing that this whole experience is a pure miracle. And it is. Geilenfeld has done so much for people in Haiti, starting schools, bakeries, coffee business, three orphanages, gosh knows what else. From my reading, John Duarte 'out-did' Mike Geilenfeld in accomplishing similar projects. However, in Duarte's case, he was also sexually abusing children the entire time. Might Geilenfeld be doing the same?
Mr. Lajoie told me I am not the first person to contact him about Geilenfeld. He said that when he started writing about John Duarte 4 years ago, Geilenfeld's name came up at the beginning. He was surprised Geilenfeld was still in Haiti because a lot of people are aware of the sexual abuse allegations.
In December of 1990, John Duarte signed a letter defending Mike Geilenfeld of sexual abuse allegations. I believe the two men know each other as far back as Duarte's seminary days in Canada. Cyrus Sibert, a Journalists in Haiti has written about Mike Geilenfeld. Apparently, Sibert covered the Doug Perlitz case, another missionary convicted of committing sexual abuse in Haiti. As news of Perlitz spread, Sibert started to receive complaints from people that alleged they had been sexually abused by Michael Geilenfeld. Mr. Sibert claims "The number of victims is in the hundreds. In 28 years, there are many who claim to have experienced the onslaught of Geilenfeld. On a trip survey in Port-au-Prince, Citadel Network met about a dozen adults, olker children of St. Joseph Home for Boys. The stories are the same: Geilenfeld stroked the neck, face, abdomen, buttocks, he was pressed against his erect penis, and finally the less violent or the most naive, were sodomized. Sometimes he uses Haitian bisexual pedophiles and especially members of his staff, for the first attacks on children recently arrived." (translated by http://translate.google.com/).
These allegations have disturbed me greatly. I would welcome your thoughts on these matters. I have a lot of documentation in PDF format if you are interested in reading the material. It will save you the time of searching for the material on the internet. I hope I hear from you.
Respectfully,
Robert Bryan Davis
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA
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Sophie R. Elsner
Program Associate, The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism
www.brandeis.edu/investigate
selsner@brandeis.edu
(781) 736-3878
