PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — U.S. missionary Thomas Osbeck was detained by Haitian police on September 30 following allegations of child sexual abuse linked to an allegedly unlicensed orphanage in Cap-Haitien. A police spokesperson stated that explicit messages sent to children were discovered on Osbeck’s phone, prompting medical examinations for at least a dozen minors.
Arold Jean, the spokesperson for the Cap-Haitien police department, confirmed the arrest but did not specify which U.S. agency was involved. He indicated that Osbeck lacked the necessary paperwork to operate an orphanage and anticipated that Osbeck could be extradited to the United States.
Osbeck’s detention coincides with recent charges in the U.S. against Maylon Foshee, 23, from Mansfield, Louisiana. Foshee is accused of sexually abusing minors during his multiple mission trips to Haiti between 2023 and 2026, where he worked in the coastal city of Gonaives. Authorities allege he abused children who lived with him or received financial support from him.
In a related case, Michael Geilenfeld was convicted last year in Miami for sexually abusing boys at an orphanage he founded in Port-au-Prince. Geilenfeld had pleaded not guilty, and his orphanage, established in 1985, was closed in 2015.
The situation regarding Osbeck remains fluid, as it is unclear whether he has legal representation. An Associated Press journalist was unable to visit him in custody on Friday.
