Colorado Man Sentenced to 210 Years for Decades of Child Abuse at Haitian Orphanage He Founded

The case unfolds as reports of sexual and physical abuse in Haiti surge, driven by growing instability and the expanding control of armed groups over the capital. (Credit: AFP)

A 73-year-old Colorado man has been sentenced to 210 years in federal prison for the serial abuse of children living at a Haitian orphanage he founded decades ago.

Michael Karl Geilenfeld, once a seemingly benevolent figure hailed for his missionary work, was unmasked in court as a predator who weaponized his position of power at St. Joseph's Home for Boys — an institution he established in 1985 in Port-au-Prince for vulnerable children in Haiti. Far from the safety and care the home promised, it became a place of prolonged torment for the boys under his supervision.