Posted on 08/19/2010 7:47:19 AM PDT by markomalley
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The founder of a Haitian boys school pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal sexual activity with minors, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Connecticut said.
Douglas Perlitz, 40, founder and director of Project Pierre Toussaint, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to a count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
In pleading guilty, Perlitz, a former Connecticut resident, admitted that from 2001 to 2008 he traveled to the school in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, and engaged in illicit sexual conduct with eight minors.
"Millions of people in Haiti face a daily challenge simply to survive," U.S. Attorney David Fein said in a release issued Wednesday. "This defendant preyed on impoverished and powerless street children in Haiti, enticing them with significant benefits such as food, shelter, clothing and education, only to exploit his position of trust and sexually abuse the boys under his care."
Fein praised the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he said "devoted and continues to devote significant resources to investigate matters involving American citizens who travel abroad to sexually abuse minors."
He also acknowledged the vital assistance provided by the Haitian National Police Department's Brigade of Protection of Minors.
Arterton scheduled sentencing for Dec. 21. Perlitz could face a prison term of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
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