Former Ohio Missionary Pleads Guilty to Molesting 2 Boys in Haiti
Jeriah Mast admitted to abusing minors abroad, and investigators said flight records showed more than 30 trips from the United States to Haiti.
- On Tuesday, Jeriah Mast, 45, pleaded guilty in federal court in Cleveland to sexually abusing two boys in Haiti during missionary work between 2002 and 2019.
- Federal prosecutors accelerated their investigation after Mast received early release from an Ohio state prison sentence last October. The former Millersburg-based Christian Aid Ministries employee had previously been convicted of gross sexual imposition.
- Prosecutors agreed to dismiss two of four charges alleging abuse of boys in 2004, 2007, and 2011. Mast admitted to factual basis of dismissed charges while pleading guilty to counts involving minors between 12 and 16 years old.
- Sentencing is set for Dec. 15, 2026, with an agreed range of 25 to 33 years. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department called the plea "an important step toward justice."
- The case highlights broader sexual abuse issues within conservative Anabaptist communities, including the Amish and Mennonites. Advocates say victims in these closed religious groups are pressured to reconcile with abusers rather than seek prosecution outside internal disciplines.
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35 Articles
Ex-missionary from Ohio pleads guilty to sexually abusing 2 boys in Haiti
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys in Haiti, reaching an agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a prison sentence of at least 25 years.
Former Ohio missionary pleads guilty to molesting 2 boys in Haiti – WTOP News
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys in Haiti, reaching an agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a prison sentence of at least 25 years. Jeriah Mast, 45, of Millersburg, Ohio — who told police in 2019 he had molested more than...
The Toronto Star
Former Ohio missionary pleads guilty to molesting 2 boys in Haiti
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys in Haiti, reaching an agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a prison sentence of at least 25 years.
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