US Missionary Detained in Haiti Amid Child Abuse Allegations

Haitian police have detained a U.S. missionary accused of running an illegal orphanage in Cap-Haitien amid allegations of child abuse, police spokesperson Arold Jean told The Associated Press on Friday.

Authorities arrested Thomas Osbeck on Wednesday, Jean said, though he did not specify which U.S. agency was involved. Haitian authorities found at least 12 minors at the orphanage, which Osbeck reportedly did not have the required operating permits for. Police expect Osbeck to be extradited to the United States. It was not immediately clear if Osbeck has an attorney.

Osbeck's detention comes nearly two weeks after U.S. authorities charged Maylon Foshee, 23, of Mansfield, Louisiana, with sexually abusing minors during mission trips to Haiti between 2023 and 2026. Foshee allegedly worked with a ministry in Gonaives and abused children under his care, including those who lived with him or received financial support from him.

In a separate case last year, Michael Geilenfeld was convicted in Miami for sexually abusing boys at an orphanage he founded in Port-au-Prince. Geilenfeld, who had pleaded not guilty, operated multiple orphanages in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with the one in Port-au-Prince closing in 2014.