IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
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v. : 3:09CR207(JBA)(JGM)
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DOUGLAS PERLITZ : OCTOBER 9, 2009
GOVERNMENT'S MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DETAIN
The Government moves for pretrial detention of the
defendant because he is a sexual predator who has used a
charitable institution that he himself founded to gain access
to an incredibly vulnerable population – street children in
Haiti - for a ten-year period of time so that he could
sexually molest those children. Given the presumption of
detention under the law because the charges involve crimes of
violence against minors, the length of time that the defendant
has engaged in abusing children, the manner in which he
accessed the children, the level of control and manipulation
he has maintained over individuals in Haiti (some of which is
outlined in the Indictment) where the abuse occurred, the
victims that he targeted, his access to millions of dollars of
donated monies, his demonstrated willingness to live in one of
the poorest countries in the world, and his extensive travel
over the last ten years even though his own personal income
was relatively low, there are simply no conditions of release
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that can assure the safety of children in the community and
his appearance in Court.
I. BACKGROUND
On September 15, 2009, a federal grand jury returned an
Indictment charging Douglas Perlitz with seven (7) counts of
traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct,
in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b), and three (3)
counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places
in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c). The charges are
based on allegations that Perlitz sexually abused nine boys in
Haiti over a ten-year period of time.
The Indictment charges that in or about 1997, Perlitz
founded Project Pierre Toussaint ("PPT") which was established as
a boys school in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, located on the North Coast
of Haiti. PPT provided services to street children of all ages.
The staff of the intake center included American volunteers who
received a small stipend for their work as well as Haitians who
were involved with a variety of day to day operations.
In or about 1999, The Haiti Fund, Inc. (the Haiti Fund), was
incorporated as a charitable, religious and educational
organization and operated as the fund-raising arm of PPT. The
members of the board of the Haiti Fund were all individually
chosen by a close friend and influential religious leader who had
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1 The term boys and children is used interchangeably in
this memo. Many of the boys or children have now reached the age
of majority. The allegations of abuse, however, occurred when
they were under 18 years of age.
3
met and befriended Perlitz while Perlitz attended college in
Connecticut.
Over 2 million dollars was transferred from the Haiti Fund
to an account that Perlitz controlled in Haiti. These monies did
not include other significant capital expenses and other expenses
that were directly paid by the Haiti Fund for PPT. In addition,
it has recently come to light that there may have been funds
raised on behalf of the Haiti Fund that cannot be accounted for.
While Perlitz was the director of PPT, Perlitz appears to be
the only individual with access to, and control over, the monies
that were sent to Haiti by the Haiti Fund. Perlitz had access to
an enormous sum of money by Haitian (and American) standards and
thus far there does not appear to be an accurate accounting of
what happened to these monies.
Moreover, many witnesses, including the children who have
informed authorities that they were sexually abused by Perlitz,
and others have provided statements regarding the sums of cash
that Perlitz was constantly carrying around with him. The boys1
who are victims identified in this case have notified ICE agents
and others that Perlitz used the money to control them, to gain
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access to them, and to entice them so that he could sexually
abuse them.
All of the children who are identified as victims in the
Indictment have been personally interviewed both by the National
Haitian Police ("HNP") as well as ICE agents in 2009 as part of
ICE's investigation. All of them have stated their willingness
to come to the United States to testify. In fact, the Government
has obtained video-taped statements from many of the boys. While
some of the boys are currently over 18 years of age, the
allegations of sexual abuse charged in the Indictment occurred
prior to any victim turning 18. ICE agents have also interviewed
other individuals including Haitian staff and American volunteers
who have spoken directly to children. Some of the other adult
individuals who worked at PPT (both Haitian and American) have
confirmed that the children told them about the sexual abuse that
Perlitz inflicted upon them.
ICE agents have also spoken directly with the members of the
HNP who conducted a separate investigation in early 2008.
Members of HNP confirmed that they spoke directly to children
during their investigation. Significantly, many more than the
nine children reported to HNP that they were sexually abused by
Perlitz. It does appear that the Haitian Government has issued a
provisional arrest warrant for Perlitz.
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Moreover, in the Spring of 2008, the Haiti Fund hired a
private firm in Haiti to investigate the allegations of sexual
abuse of children by Perlitz. The report indicates that some
children reported being abused by Perlitz and others reported
that they were not abused by him. At least one of the
individuals that the private firm spoke to is an identified
victim in the Government's case. That individual reported to the
private security company that he was sexually abused by Perlitz.
II. LAW
Section 3142(e) of the Bail Reform Act of 1984 requires that
a defendant shall be detained pending trial if it is determined,
after a hearing, that "no condition or combination of conditions
will reasonably assure the appearance of that defendant as
required and the safety of any other person and the community..."
Indeed, the Bail Reform Act was amended on April 30, 2003,
to include a presumption of detention in most cases involving
sexual offenses against children. This amendment, which is
referred to as the Protect Act, creates a presumption of
dangerousness for individuals who, like the defendant, are
charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 2423. Section 3142(e) further
states, "[s]ubject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be
presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will
reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and
the safety of the community if the judicial officer finds that
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there is probable cause to believe that the person committed . .
. an offense involving a minor victim under section . . . 2423 .
. . of this title." This presumption was based in part on the
Congressional determination that "[s]ex offenders and child
molesters are four times more likely than any other violent
criminal to repeat their offenses against children. This number
demands attention, especially in light of the fact that a single
child molester on average shatters the lives of over 100
children." 149 Cong. Rec. H3066 (daily ed. Apr. 10, 2003)
(statement of Rep. James Sensenbrenner).
As set forth in the Indictment, the defendant is charged
under 18 U.S.C. 2423(b) and 2423(c) with intending to engage in,
and engaging in, illicit sexual conduct with minors in Haiti.
Moreover, a federal grand jury has already determined that there
is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed ten
crimes involving nine separate boys. As such, the United States
is entitled to a presumption under 18 U.S.C. §3142(e) "that no
condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the
appearance of the person as required and the safety of the
community." 18 U.S.C. 3142(e).
The burden is on Perlitz to overcome that presumption by
producing evidence to establish that there are conditions of
release which will ensure both Defendant's appearance at trial
and the safety of the community. Moreover, as explained in
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United States v. Mercedes, 254 F.3d 433, 437-38 (2d Cir. 2001),
the factors that would normally weigh in favor of release such as
citizenship and ties to the community do not overcome the
presumption against pre-trial release. See United States v.
Tomero, 169 Fed. Appx. 639, 641 (2d Cir. 2006) (citing Mercedes,
the Court held that "factors favoring release such as citizenship
and strong ties to the community do not overcome [the]
presumption again[st] pre-trial release where defendant was
charged with a violent crime and the evidence against him was
strong"); see also United States v. Hir, 517 F.3d 1081, 1086 (9th
Cir. 2008).
In evaluating whether there are conditions of release which
will ensure the appearance of Perlitz and the safety of the
community, the Court must consider:
(1) the nature and circumstances of the crimes charged;
(2) the weight of the evidence against the defendant;
(3) the history and characteristics of the defendant,
including family ties, employment, financial resources, community
ties, drug or alcohol abuse history, past conduct; and
(4) the nature and seriousness of the danger to the
community or to an individual that would be posed by release.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g).
Even if a defendant has met his burden of production
relating to danger to the community and risk of flight, the
presumption favoring detention does not disappear, but "remains
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in the case as an evidentiary finding militating against release,
to be weighed along with other evidence relevant to factors
listed in § 3142(g)." Hir, 517 F.3d at 1086, citing United
States v. Dominguez, 783 F.2d 702, 707 (7th Cir. 1986).
III. DISCUSSION
As set forth herein, the Government submits that based on
the applicable law and evidence in this case, there are no
conditions or combinations of conditions that will adequately
ensure the safety of the community and deter flight. See 18
U.S.C. § 3142(g).
Danger to the Community
Perlitz has been charged with ten crimes of violence, as
that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, §
3156(a)(4). The circumstances of these crimes portray an
individual who has set up an extensive charitable organization
with the support of influential members of a community who
provided significant financial support for him. The nature and
circumstances of the offense, along with the strength of the
evidence and seriousness of the danger posed by a man who has
acted on his sexual desires towards children, demand pretrial
incarceration of this defendant.
In this case, the defendant is accused of actual, hands-on
sexual abuse, namely with real children who are exceptionally
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vulnerable. The facts that the conduct occurred in a foreign
country, and that the children are located in a foreign country,
should provide this Court no comfort with regard to the danger he
poses to children generally. There can be no doubt that from
1998 until 2008, Perlitz was focused on children. He obtained
large sums of money to open up a boys school in Haiti. He was
the director of the school. Many witnesses have testified that
he controlled every aspect of, and everyone at, PPT. He has even
been referred to as the "King" of PPT. The children (and others,
including Americans) that have come forward to date have talked
about a hierarchy among the boys, where the boys who engaged in
sex acts with Perlitz who received protection, money and material
things while the others did not. By his own admission, discussed
below, as well as through statements from many witnesses, Perlitz
engaged in very disturbing behavior by permitting children to
constantly sleep in his bedroom with him while he was the
director of PPT.
Even after the allegations of abuse publically surfaced in
Haiti in 2007, Perlitz nevertheless returned to PPT and continued
to have boys sleep in his room. In or about April 2008, Perlitz
was directed by the Haiti Fund not to return to PPT. In July
2008, members of the HNP met with individuals from the Haiti Fund
to discuss the findings of its investigation. As noted above, in
the Spring of 2008, the Haiti Fund had separately hired a
security company to look into the allegations of the abuse.
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2 The Government notes that some of the individuals have
reached the age of majority but all of the "children" being
referred to were at one time street children who had been
enrolled at PPT.
10
Even after Perlitz was no longer permitted to return to PPT and
after he became aware that the Haiti Fund had begun an internal
investigation into the sexual abuse allegations (and that the HNP
had separately reported its findings to members of the Haiti
Fund), Perlitz nevertheless remained focused on continuing his
relationship with children2 formerly associated with PPT.
In July 2008, Perlitz was residing in Fairfield County,
Connecticut. Although he halted all further travel to Haiti
(where he may have been subject to arrest), witnesses have
confirmed that he instead began traveling to the Dominican
Republic to meet children who had previously been associated with
PPT. Travel records also confirm that Perlitz began to travel
frequently to the Dominican Republic during that latter part of
2008 (and also confirm the fact that he stopped traveling to
Haiti). See Exhibit 3.
Perlitz himself has admitted his on-going connection to a
group of boys (some who likely have reached the age of majority)
in Haiti. At the time of Perlitz's arrest (after being provided
with Miranda warnings), Perlitz made statements to ICE agents
regarding his continuing contact with children in Haiti. Perlitz
admitted to S/A Lundt that he traveled to the Dominican Republic
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as recently as March 2009 to see "his kids." He also stated that
he is in daily contact with individuals from Haiti. Perlitz
admitted speaking to "boys in Haiti." He further admitted to
receiving 17 phone calls from Haiti the day before his arrest. He
further stated to Agent Lundt that he "lost his father" when he
was only 24 years old. He went on to say that this was traumatic
for him. He stated that "molestation would be tough" but that
"victims should just get over it." He told Agent Lundt that he
"got over" his father's death and "even though it was tough he
moved on" and he said that abuse victims "need to move on and get
over it."
During a separate conversation, when discussing Perlitz's
work at PPT, Perlitz admitted to S/A Lundt "that some boundaries
were crossed and would not be condoned." When S/A Lundt asked
him what he meant by boundaries, he noted that boundaries were
crossed when he permitted children to stay overnight in his room
with him but he denied any sexual contact with these children.
Telephone records for Perlitz demonstrate frequent and
constant activity with individuals in Haiti. It appears that
Perlitz is constantly communicating with a small group of
individuals formerly associated with PPT. These individuals
communicate with Perlitz about providing them with money.
Western Union records have confirmed that beginning in 2008 and
continuing through 2009, Perlitz was sending money to a small
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group of individuals in Haiti. The Government is aware that most
of the wire transfers were to individuals formerly enrolled in
PPT.
If Perlitz was so brazen as to engage in such a long-term
scheme to access a vulnerable population and to continue to visit
with and contact individuals who were formerly street children
enrolled at PPT in light of all of the investigations surrounding
these allegations, he clearly is very focused on either
controlling these individuals or has little control over his
sexual impulses towards minors. In either case, he presents a
clear and continuing danger.
It is also worth noting that adult witnesses and children
have informed ICE agents that Perlitz had at times an incredible
temper. More importantly, two adult American witnesses have
advised that they left PPT and became afraid while they were
there because of this temper.
Even some of the most stringent release conditions, such as
electronic monitoring, would be insufficient in this case. While
electronic monitoring can often minimize the risk of flight of
defendants pending trial, it cannot adequately address the danger
posed by those with a demonstrated sexual interest in children
because electronic monitoring can only provide information on
where a defendant is, and not what he is doing. Depending on the
type of electronic monitoring used, there are various
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limitations. With radio frequency monitoring, involving an ankle
or wrist device, the location monitoring equipment only reports
when a defendant enters or leaves the equipment's range--not
where the defendant has gone or how far the participant has
traveled. Electronic monitoring reveals absolutely nothing about
the activities of the defendant, such as whether he has children
in his house or in his presence, or whether he is communicating
with minors over the Internet or via the telephone.
Risk of Flight
The crimes charged involve very serious penalties. The
strength of the evidence as outlined above, combined with the
likelihood of a significant prison sentence, provide a powerful
incentive for this defendant to flee.
With regard to the strength of the evidence, as noted above,
the Government has obtained statements from all nine boys in
Haiti regarding the sexual abuse allegations, including in many
instances video-taped statements. The HNP's investigation
corroborates that Perlitz engaged in sexual abuse of certain
children. The Haiti Fund's internal investigation corroborates
the same findings. Many adult witnesses (both Americans and
Haitians) have provided compelling evidence regarding their
concerns about Perlitz's sexual abuse.
In addition, the defendant has a history of extensive
international travel. His travel records and passport entries
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3 Exhibit 1 is a copy of two of Perlitz's passports. The
first passport was valid from July 2000 until July 2010. It
appears that in 2008 Perlitz had to obtain a second passport
because he no longer had sufficient pages for the stamps.
Therefore the second passport is valid from March 2008 until
2018. Exhibit 2 is a copy of the ICE summary showing Perlitz's
travel from April 1997 until December 2003. This summary will
only show the port of exit and the initial foreign port of entry.
It will not provide details of any further travel from the
initial port of entry nor will it show any travel direct from
Haiti to another foreign port.
4 In light of defendant's own admission regarding his
financial situation, the Government will be requesting a Curcio
hearing to determine who is paying defendant's legal fees. We
will also be asking the Court to canvass the defendant to ensure
that if the fees are being paid by anyone who is a potential
subject or witness in this case that Perlitz understands any
possible bias and waives his right to complain at a later date
that his attorneys did not act in his best interests.
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reveal significant travel. While a lot of the travel was between
the U.S. and Haiti, the defendant has also engaged in significant
other travel. See Exhibit 13 (evidencing travel to Thailand,
Bhutan, Ecuador, Myanmar, Chile, and the Dominican Republic,
among other countries). For an individual whose salary has been
quite modest, he clearly has been able to access funds to support
extensive international travel. Indeed, Perlitz has admitted to
S/A Lundt that he currently only has about $1,000.4
Further, defendant has few ties holding him in
Connecticut. Although he did travel back and forth from Haiti to
Connecticut, it appears that his purpose when returning to
Connecticut was to assist with fund-raising efforts and public
awareness for PPT. When he returned to Connecticut, he
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5 The Government will be requesting an order precluding
Perlitz from speaking with any current or former Board member of
the Haiti Fund who are all likely witnesses in this case. In
addition, the Government will request that Pertliz have no
contact with any American volunteer, staff member or any children
who had been associated with PPT in Haiti.
15
associated primarily with individuals involved with the Haiti
Fund.5 In fact, the address utilized for residency purposes was
that of a religious leader who the Government understands no
longer resides in Connecticut.
Since July 2009, Perlitz has lived and worked in Colorado.
Perlitz currently has no employment here in Connecticut.
Moreover, the fact that the U.S. Government is in possession of
his passport does not mean that he can no longer travel. ICE
agents will be able to inform the Court about the movement of
individuals across our border without valid entry or exit
documents.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Government requests that
its motion to detain the defendant be granted.
Respectfully submitted,
NORA R. DANNEHY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
/s/
KRISHNA R. PATEL
ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
United States Attorney's Office
915 Lafayette Boulevard
Bridgeport, CT 06604
(203) 696-3000
Federal Bar Number ct24433
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on October 7, 2009 a copy of the
foregoing Government's Memorandum in Support of Motion to Detain
was filed electronically and served by mail on anyone unable to
accept electronic filing. Notice of this filing will be sent by
e-mail to all parties by operation of the court's electronic
filing system or by mail to anyone unable to accept electronic
filing as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing. Parties
may access this filing through the court's CM/ECF system.
/s/________________________________
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