Missionary from Virginia sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexually abusing a Haitian child

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James Daniel Arbaugh, a Mennonite missionary from Virginia, has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

The 40-year-old has lived in Haiti for the past 15 years, frequently returning to the United States in the time period. His work as a missionary took Arbaugh to remote towns and villages in the island country. As part of Arbaugh’s guilty plea, he admitted that he “groomed” children in these remote places and with one particular child, he copped to touching the child’s genitals in 2016. The kid was under 12 years old.

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U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth K. Dillion of the Western District of Virginia sentenced Arbaugh to 23 years in prison on July 23.

Officials associated with the case expressed their opinions of Arbaugh’s crimes. “This kind of heinous and evil activity has no place here, abroad or in-transit,” said Special Agent in Charge Lechleitner. “Those seeking to commit such abhorrent crimes and evade detection cannot hide from our highly skilled and dedicated investigators.”

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“James Arbaugh was a wolf in sheep’s clothing: he posed as a selfless missionary when in reality he was exploiting his position to prey on and sexually abuse vulnerable children in one of the most impoverished areas of the world,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Today’s sentencing is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to hold sexual predators like Arbaugh accountable for their deplorable crimes.”

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“The defendant abused his position of trust to prey on vulnerable victims, and their lives will never be the same,” said U.S. Attorney Cullen.  “As this case indicates, our office is committed to working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to identify and vigorously prosecute those who exploit children.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative that launched in 2006. The project’s goal is to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse.