By Leanne Gendreau and Wire Reports
NBC Connecticut
August 18 2010
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/School-Founder-to-Enter-Plea-in-Haiti-Sex-Abuse-Case---100983979.html
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A man accused of sexually abusing several boys in Haiti admitted to sexually abusing eight boys at the school he founded for street children.
Douglas Perlitz, a former Fairfield County resident who now lives in Eagle Colorado, was charged last year with enticing boys at the Project Pierre Toussaint School in Cap-Haitien into sex acts.
On Wednesday, Perlitz pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Haven to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a charge that carries up to 30 years in prison.
He began traveling to Haiti in 1991 for a volunteer mission and was inspired to start a school to help the many street children in the poverty-ravaged area, according to the grand jury indictment.
There, he befriended male children, recruited them to his school and enticed boys into sex acts by promising them food, shelter and other items, court records state.
Prosecutors say Perlitz also withheld benefits and threatened to expel the boys if they refused his wishes.
Sentencing was set for Dec. 21.
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