$12 Million Settles Perlitz Haitian Sex Cases

By Michael P. Mayko
The Advocate
June 29, 2013

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/12-million-settles-Perlitz-Haitian-sex-cases-4638590.php

The sordid sex scandal involving 24 Haitian street boys, Douglas Perlitz and the Project Pierre Toussaint program has come to an end.

Lawyers for the boys, who claim they were sexually abused by Perlitz, reached a $12 million settlement Friday with attorneys representing people and charities accused of promoting and raising money for Perlitz's program but failing to properly supervise him.

Perlitz was among the founders of Project Pierre Toussaint, which outlined its purpose as helping to feed, clothe and educate Haitian boys in their country. Instead, the boys' lawyers claim, it became an instrument of abuse.

"This ends the litigation pending in the District of Connecticut in connection with the Perlitz matter," said Stanley A. Twardy Jr., Fairfield University's lawyer. Twardy previously served as Connecticut's chief federal prosecutor.

Fairfield University was one of numerous defendants, which also included the Rev. Paul E. Carrier Jr., who court documents identify as a former chaplain at the school and a former officer of the Haiti Fund Inc., Project Pierre Toussaint's nonprofit fundraising arm; the Society of Jesus of New England, Carrier's Jesuit order; the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta; American Association, USA, which also provided money; and Hope Carter, a member of the board of directors of the Haiti Fund, a New Canaan philanthropist and Malta member, move for the dismissal of all pending cases involving 24 plaintiffs.

"The settlement agreement does not consitute an admission of liability," said Alice Poltorick, provincial assistant for communications for the New England Province of the Society of Jesus.

Poltorick said that while Project Pierre Toussaint was not a mission of her organization, one its members served on the board.

"It is our hope that this money will help those who were harmed by Douglas Perlitz," she said.

Attempts to reach lawyers for Carrier, Carter and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller were unsuccessful Saturday.

Twardy said Friday's settlement "is not an admission of liability by any defendant."

Paul Kendrick, a Fairfield University graduate who spent years advocating for the boys, heralded their courage in pressing the sexual abuse charges across international boundaries and against Perlitz, who was a popular figure in Cap-Haitien, where his program contributed heavily to the economy.

"They have left a legacy and sent out a very strong message for the first time in Haiti that NGO's (nongovernmental organizations) must put policies, practices and systems in place and be vigilant about the volunteers they send overseas to ensure the safety of the children in their care."

A joint motion for voluntary dismissal in all the cases was filed by lawyers on both sides with U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford.

Sources said the settlement money, coming from insurance policies, has been delivered to Mitchell Garabedian, who led the plaintiffs' legal team.

In acknowledging the settlement Saturday, Garabedian said, "It is an honor to represent" all 24 courageous plaintiffs.

The lawyer said he will conduct a news conference Monday to discuss the terms. It will be up to Garabedian to develop a system for parceling out the money to his clients, all of whom are believed to reside in Haiti.

The settlement brings to a close the saga of a program that drew national media attention, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from wealthy Fairfield and Westchester county Catholics, for nearly a dozen years.

It grew from its 1997 humble beginnings in a Cap-Haitien parking lot into a three-stage program, which included a walled-in residential school which taught farming, animal husbandry, roofing, plumbing and other trades needed to revive one of the poorest countries in the world.

Its end began in 2007 when Cyrus Sibert, a Haitian journalist, exposed a sex scandal involving Perlitz. By the summer of 2009, contributions decreased, the program shut down and an international investigation began involving the Haitian National Police, the United Nations and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.

In Connecticut, Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna Patel and ICE Special Agent Rod Khattabi built a criminal case against Perlitz, which led to his indictment and conviction.

Pleading guilty to traveling overseas to engage in sex with a minor, Perlitz was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in federal prison.

In 2011, nearly $49,000 seized from Perlitz's accounts was distributed to 16 victims named in the criminal cases.

Now 43, Perlitz is incarcerated at the federal prison in Seagoville, Texas. His expected release date is Oct. 5, 2026.