OHIO, Sept 9, CMC – A 45-year old Missionary will be sentenced on December 15 this year, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors in Haiti.
According to court documents Jeriah Mast of Millersburg, Ohio, traveled to Haiti on multiple occasions between 2002 and 2019, including with the organization Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), where he sexually abused minors.
Law enforcement obtained flight records showing that Mast had taken over 30 flights from the United States to Haiti between November 2002 and August 2018.
“Jeriah Mast preyed on vulnerable children while working in Haiti as a missionary,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“His guilty plea to multiple counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors reflects both the severity of his crimes and our unwavering commitment to holding U.S. citizens accountable when they exploit children abroad.
“This type of predatory conduct — committed by someone entrusted with missionary work — represents a profound betrayal of trust, and today’s plea is an important step toward justice for the many victims harmed by Mast’s actions,” Duva added.
The US attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, David M. Toepfer, said that defendant violated the innocence of children and violated the trust of those who supported his supposed missionary work.
“It is reprehensible behavior that we will prosecute to the fullest. We thank the investigators from HSI and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work bringing this man to justice.”
Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, Jared Murphey, said that the “defendant’s guilty plea underscores HSI’s critical mission to identify and investigate those who exploit children, including individuals entrusted with positions of authority, no matter where the crimes are committed.
“Together with our law enforcement partners, HSI Cleveland will continue working to hold child predators accountable in the United States and to seek justice for victims wherever our investigations take us.”
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
CMC/gh/ir/2026