Fairfield University, others liable for $60 million settlement ordered in Haiti orphanage abuse case

As many as 170 children abused by convicted pedophile Douglas Perlitz at a church-sponsored orphanage in Haiti would share a $60 million settlement to be paid by Fairfield University and associated organizations and individuals under an interim settlement approved by a federal judge in Hartford.

The abuse case against Perlitz is one of the most egregious ever and law enforcement officials used it to underscore U.S. efforts to track down and prosecute U.S. citizens who exploit children on foreign soil. Perlitz was founder and director of Project Pierre Toussaint in Haiti’s north coast city of Cap-Haitien and used the orphanage, closely associated with the Catholic Church and the university, to extort years of sexual favors from some of the poorest children in the hemisphere’s poorest country.

“We are grateful that this process is in its final stages and will provide closure for these brave young men,” said New York lawyer Paul J. Hanly Jr., co-lead counsel on the case with Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian. “The settlement will allow the survivors to move beyond these horrors, enable them to receive whatever counseling and aid they require, and move on with their lives, as best as they can.”

Under the settlement, the $60 million will be paid by Fairfield University; the Society of Jesus of New England; the Order of Malta, American Association, USA; Haiti Fund, Inc.; Father Paul E. Carrier, S.J.; and Hope E. Carter. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny tentatively approved the settlement in January and, this week, issued an order making it effective on Aug. 27 if there is no successful challenge.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-perlitz-haiti-abuse-settlement-20190606-20190606-t3v7xeuqozakdfu5q56z6zegcm-story.html