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	American Founder of Haitian School Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Minor Boys Island Crisis August 18 2010 http://www.islandcrisis.net/2010/08/american-founder-haitian-school-pleads-guilty-engaging-illicit-sexual-conduct-minor-boys/ HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (BNO NEWS) — The American founder of a Haitian school for boys has pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with several minor victims, prosecutors said Wednesday. Douglas Perlitz, 40, a former Connecticut resident and the founder and director of Project Pierre Toussaint, a boys school in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, admitted that, on various dates between 2001 and 2008, he traveled from the United States to Haiti and engaged in illicit sexual conduct with eight minor victims. In 1997, Perlitz obtained funding to found Project Pierre Toussaint (PPT). Initially, PPT began as an intake center referred to as the 13th Street Intake Program, providing services to children of all ages, most of whom were street children. The services provided for the children included meals, sports activities, basic classroom instruction, and access to running water for baths. PPT continued to expand and, in approximately 1999, a residential facility, Village Pierre Toussaint, was added. The Village was staffed primarily by Haitians, but Perlitz was directly involved with the Village. In 1999, The Haiti Fund, Inc. was incorporated as a charitable, religious and educational organization in Connecticut, and operated as the fund-raising arm of PPT. The Haiti Fund raised large sums of money through fund-raising efforts in Connecticut. All of the expenses associated with PPT were paid for by monies raised on behalf of PPT by the Haiti Fund. On several occasions between 2001 and 2008, Perlitz traveled from the U.S. to Haiti to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors and did, in fact, engage in sexual conduct with minor boys who attended school at PPT. Perlitz abused his position of authority to entice and persuade the minors to comply with the sex acts by providing the promise of food and shelter and other benefits, including cash, cell phones, electronics, shoes, clothes, and other items. “Millions of people in Haiti face a daily challenge simply to survive,” stated U.S. Attorney David B. Fein. “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. I commend the extraordinary strength and courage of the minor victims in this case who came forward and spoke out about the abuse that they suffered in order to protect others from harm and so that justice would prevail.” “I also want to acknowledge the unceasing commitment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which devoted and continues to devote significant resources to investigate matters involving American citizens who travel abroad to sexually abuse minors,” he added. Perlitz was arrested in Colorado on September 16, 2009, and has been detained ever since. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He is scheduled for sentencing on December 21, at which time Perlitz faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a fine of up to 0,000.
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