I lived at St. Joesph's Home for Boys in 1997 and 1998, and...

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I lived at St. Joesph's Home for Boys in 1997 and 1998, and was the director of Wings of Hope for a short time. After I had been there long enough for the children to begin trusting me, they started telling me about the abuse.

All of them. And also the employees, cooks, security staff.

They all said it was true and many of the boys had personal experiences about being sexually abused by Michael.

It was a shock - I didn't want to believe it but so many of the children were saying the same things! Even children who had grown up and moved to the States long ago told the same stories.

When Michael found out that I had been told about the abuse and had spoken to another person about what I was being told, he fired me and I left and started my own charity project that helps fund a small school in another area of Haiti.

Although I have never seen this abuse with my own eyes, I can say that there have been more than just a few witnesses and testimonies about it - for over 20 years children (and adults) have been trying to get their voices heard and have been telling stories of the same kinds of acts by Geilenfeld over the years.

I am still very close to a man who grew up there and was in the first group of young men that confronted Michael about his abuse, after which he cried and said he could not control his desires toward young boys.

So many times victims have tried to get charges to stick but manipulation of the system has always resulted in the stories being ignored and nothing has ever been done -- until now.

I can also tell you that Michael was a very angry, spiteful person when I knew him. He comes across so kind and sweet to the short time visitors who come to spend a week or two with him then go home feeling they have met mother theresa.

But anyone who ever dared to try to talk to one of these visitors was sure to be out in the street the very second that Michael found out about it. Believe me - those kids were threatened about opening their mouths in front of donors.

They all knew that if they wanted to eat and have a nice bed o sleep in the first requirement was to put on a good show for visiting donors.

I can't believe they actually arrested him -- after 30 years!

Caroline, September 18 2014, 11:04 AM

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