Nature and Circumstances of the Offense
The charges in the Superseding Indictment are extremely serious. The Defendant is
charged in five counts with traveling in foreign commerce with the purpose of engaging in illicit
sexual conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b) (Count 1); and engaging in illicit sexual
conduct in a foreign place, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c) (Counts 2 through 5). If
convicted, the Defendant faces a maximum sentence of thirty (30) years in prison on each count.
Even a conservative Sentencing Guidelines calculation yields an advisory sentencing range that
would, for all practical purposes, place the Defendant in prison for the rest of his life. The risk of
flight is heightened as a result.
Also, the face of the Superseding Indictment and the facts proffered by the Government at
the April 16 Hearing clearly raise the specter of danger to the community if the Defendant is
released. The charges stem from allegations that from the late 1980s until approximately 2014, the
Defendant '''sexually abused approximately 20 young boys that lived with him at an orphanage he
operated in Haiti and after 2014 in the Dominican Republic'''. The Superseding Indictment includes
four violations of § 2423(c), and in each count a different victim is listed (by pseudonym, such as
“MINOR VICTIM 1”); all the sexual abuse alleged occurred between in or about 2007 and in or
about 2010, when the victims were minors. The Superseding Indictment alleges illicit sexual
conduct perpetrated by the Defendant, which the Government proffered at the April 16 Hearing as
'''including the Defendant’s “penetrating their anuses with his penis and penetrating their mouths
with his penis.”''' The nature and circumstances of the charges heightens danger to other persons
and the community if release is granted.
…
For example, one of the victims will testify that a
'''close associate of the Defendant stabbed the sexual abuse victim, and deposition testimony of the
Defendant confirms that the Defendant knew this about the associate while wire transfer records
will show that the Defendant provided funds to the associate after the episode occurred.'''
Above from
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.660854/gov.uscourts.flsd.660854.26.0.pdf
Other docs
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68395639/united-states-v-michael-karl-geilenfeld/