Founder Of Haitian Charity Gets 19Ω Years In Prison

Founder Of Haitian Charity Gets 19½ Years In Prison For Sexually Abusing Boys In His Care

NEW HAVEN — — It wasn't easy for Robenson Gedeus to tell the sordid stories of how an American charity worker he once trusted traded sex with Haitian street boys for shelter, food and money.

Several times Tuesday, the soft-spoken Gedeus dropped his head and wept as he told a federal judge and a rapt, packed courtroom how Douglas Christian Perlitz sexually abused nearly two dozen homeless boys — the same children Perlitz was supposed to be caring for in the charity he created, Project Pierre Toussaint.

Gedeus' emotional words in U.S. District Court came as Perlitz, 40, formerly of Fairfield, was sentenced to 19½ years in prison — the full sentence requested by prosecutors — for sexually abusing the boys.

Read more stories on Perlitz sentencing.

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