Douglas Perlitz, a 1992 graduate of Jesuit-run Fairfield University in Connecticut, appeared in U.S. District in New Haven, Conn., Feb. 2, to answer charges of sexual abuse of minors.
He pleaded not guilty to nine charges of traveling from the U.S. to Haiti to engage in sexual activity with nine different boys between 1998 and 2004 and 10 charges of engaging in sexual activity with minors in a foreign land between 2003 and 2008 with 10 different boys. Each of the charges carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence.
Perlitz first traveled to Haiti as a volunteer during his junior year in college. He later returned to Haiti and in 1997 founded Project Pierre Toussaint, a home and school for Haitian boys in Cap Haitien on the country’s northern coast.
Perlitz's work in Haiti was supported with significant from the campus community and from Catholics in the Bridgeport, Conn., diocese.
The judge in the case tentatively scheduled jury selection for May 5 with the trial starting a month later. Read More.
