US Missionary Arrested in Haiti on Suspicion of Running Unlicensed Orphanage and Child Sexual Abuse

Police in Cap-Haïtien said Friday that a US missionary suspected of operating an unlicensed orphanage and sexually abusing children has been arrested in Haiti. According to Africa News, citing Cap-Haïtien police spokesperson Arold Jean, US citizen Thomas Osbeck was arrested in Haiti by US authorities on September 30, after having been brought to a police station by local members of the public.

Jean said the police investigation found that the orphanage Osbeck operated in the Morne Rouge area of Cap-Haïtien "lacked the necessary operating authorization." Police subsequently examined his phone and found "explicit messages sent to children" stored on it. As part of the investigation, 12 children—11 of whom were girls aged 7 to 17—underwent medical examinations, the specific conclusions of which have not yet been made public.

Jean said it remains unclear whether Osbeck has retained a defense attorney, and police expect he will be extradited to the United States.

Meanwhile, another US missionary, 23-year-old Maylon Foshee of Louisiana, was charged in the United States for sexual crimes against minors committed while conducting missionary work in Gonaïves, Haiti, and is scheduled to appear in US federal court on Monday. The specific details of the charges against Foshee await further disclosure through judicial proceedings.

Both cases point to the same structural problem: individuals from affluent Western countries who engage in activities involving minors in Haiti—a country with fragile institutions and absent regulation—are almost entirely immune to effective local accountability, and subsequent trials of criminal suspects typically take place in their home countries, bypassing the judicial system of the communities where the victims reside.

Haiti is currently experiencing a severe governance crisis: gang violence has forced large numbers of people to be displaced, public institutions operate with limited capacity across most areas including the capital Port-au-Prince, and child protection mechanisms have been severely weakened. Against this backdrop, unregistered orphanages and missionary outposts have been able to operate outside any effective oversight for extended periods, further amplifying the exploitation risks faced by vulnerable minors.