A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio has indicted a Millersburg man on charges that he traveled to Haiti repeatedly over a 17-year period to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors.
Jeriah Mast, 44, was charged Tuesday with four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. According to the indictment, Mast used his time traveling with the organization Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) to access and abuse children in the Caribbean nation.
Federal investigators allege that between 2002 and 2019, Mast was a frequent traveler to Haiti. Court filings cite flight records indicating he took more than 30 trips from the U.S. to Haiti between November 2002 and August 2018. Prosecutors say each of the four counts in the indictment corresponds to the abuse of a different minor victim.
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Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division condemned the alleged actions, noting the vulnerability of the victims involved.
“As alleged, this defendant traveled abroad to commit heinous, unspeakable crimes against vulnerable children living in an impoverished nation,” Galeotti said in a statement following the unsealing of the charges. “Despite the fact that the defendant’s alleged crimes occurred abroad, our law enforcement partners and prosecutors will continue to relentlessly seek justice on behalf of the minor victims.”
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Cleveland with significant assistance from the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office. Officials emphasized that U.S. laws regarding the sexual exploitation of children have extraterritorial jurisdiction, allowing federal authorities to prosecute American citizens for crimes committed on foreign soil.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice for victims and ensuring that predators face the full weight of the law wherever our investigations lead,” said Matthew Stentz, Acting Special Agent in Charge for HSI Detroit.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Kane and Jennifer King.
If convicted, Mast faces significant federal prison time. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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