A Littleton man who founded an orphanage in Haiti received the maximum sentence of 210 years in prison Friday after a federal jury found him guilty of sexually abusing orphans in his care.
Michael Geilenfeld, 73, founded St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in 1985 and ran the Port-au-Prince facility for more than 20 years.
He used his position to prey on orphaned children, inflicting sexual abuse and other physical and emotional abuse, according to
He was found guilty in February of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place between 2005 and 2010.
The six charges reflected six victims who were underaged at the time and later testified against Geilenfeld.
“The defendantap sustained sexual, physical and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable,” said Matthew Galeotti, head of the departmentap Criminal Division.
“This prosecution demonstrates the departmentap commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes.”
Abuse allegations against Geilenfeld in Haiti were pending at the time of his February conviction.
