Markenzy Lapointe U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
A Colorado man has been convicted by a federal jury in Miami for sexually abusing boys at an orphanage he founded in Haiti. Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, of Littleton, established St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in 1985 and ran it for over twenty years. During this period, he traveled between the United States and Haiti to commit these offenses.
The jury found Geilenfeld guilty on one count of traveling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in such conduct abroad from 2005 to 2010. Each count pertains to a different victim who was a child at the time. The victims testified about their abuse during the trial, as did four other victims not included in the charges. Geilenfeld's sentencing is scheduled for May 5, where he faces up to 30 years per count.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Miami and the FBI Miami Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk along with Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.
For more details on related court documents, visit the District Court for the Southern District of Florida's website or access them through PACER using case number 24-cr-20008.
