How Could You? Hall of Shame-Haiti Orphanage/Matthew Andrew Carter UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

This case took place in Morning Star orphanage in Haiti. The orphanage originally was located in Croix-des-Bouquets , but had been operating in Port-Au-Prince from 1995 to 2011 when Matthew,66, was arrested.

2011 Article

“An American man who ran a home for impoverished boys in Haiti has been arrested on charges that he forced them to perform sex acts in exchange for food, shelter and schooling, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday.

Matthew Andrew Carter, the 66-year-old operator of the Morning Star Center in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, was arrested in Miami on May 8 [2011]. He pleaded not guilty on Thursday to four counts of child sex tourism, or traveling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sex with minors.

Carter, a resident of Brighton, Michigan, ran the Morning Star residential center at various sites in Port-au-Prince since the mid-1990s and lived there with the boys, according to charges unsealed on Friday.
At the time of his arrest, 14 boys lived at the center and three others spent weekends there. Some were orphans and others had living parents who were too poor to take care of them.

Court documents charged that Carter had illegal sex with at least eight boys, sometimes for years until they got older and left the home. A federal public defender assigned to the case was not immediately available for comment.

If convicted on all the charges, he could be sentenced to up to 105 years in prison.

In announcing the arrest, federal investigators called Carter a sexual predator whose alleged conduct was “particularly deplorable” and “despicable.”

“He preyed upon and terrorized impoverished Haitian children who were in dire need of the services offered by the Morning Star Center — the very children he was purporting to help,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a news release.

Carter forced the boys to shower with him or woke them in the middle of the night and asked them to come to his room and perform sex acts on him, according to a federal investigator who interviewed several of the boys.

Those who complied were rewarded with schooling, clothing, shoes, books, games, CD players and cash, said the investigator, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Alvaro Flores. If they refused, Carter would hit them with a stick or “threaten to send the boys back where they came from,” Flores wrote in an affidavit.

Carter traveled to the United States several times a year to raise money to run the center, the court documents said

Christian orphanage operator charged with sexually abusing Haitian boys

[Raw Story 6/24/11 by Reuters]

 2013

“Prosecutor Maria Medetis said Matthew Andrew Carter of Brighton, Mich., used the Morning Star Center in Port-au-Prince as “a sexual playground” where he forced children in his care to satisfy his demands in exchange for food, education and security.

Carter’s attorney, Phil Horowtiz, said children lived at the center with their parents’ permission and were always free to leave.

Carter, 67, has been in custody since his May 8, 2011, arrest at Miami International Airport, just before he boarded a plane bound for Haiti. He ran the Morning Star Center from 1995 through 2011.

Authorities in Haiti, where thousands of children live in orphanages even though at least one parent may be living, took the rare step of shutting down the center after Carter’s arrest.

Carter faces five counts of traveling from Florida to the Caribbean country for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors. He also faces one count of attempting child sex tourism.

Horowitz described Carter as a military veteran and the son of a Detroit police officer who became a missionary and wanted to lift a generation of Haitian children out of poverty through education and Bible study.

The concrete Morning Star Center operated legally without incident for 15 years and offered children electricity and clean water, Horowitz said.

“It was better than most of the housing in the neighborhood and general area,” he said. “There was a waiting list to get in.”

Carter also opened the Morning Star’s medical clinic to its neighbors in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that leveled much of Port-au-Prince, saving many lives, Horowitz said.

Prosecutors described the Morning Star as a trap, instead of a sanctuary.

Carter, who also went by the names “William Charles Harcourt” and “Bill Carter,” targeted children in Port-au-Prince’s Tabarre neighborhood and lured them to the center with promises of food and education, Medetis said.

He took boys from their beds into his bedroom in the middle of the night to perform sexual acts, and if the boys did not comply with Carter’s sexual demands, they faced expulsion back into the grinding poverty around the Morning Star, she said.

“He gave them no choice,” she said.

Several former Morning Star residents are expected to testify during the trial that is expected to last four weeks, Medetis said.”
Man accused of abusing Haitian kids stands trial

[Wink News 2/5/13 by Jennifer Kay/Associated Press]

“Michigan man on trial in federal court denied allegations Tuesday that he sexually abused Haitian children at a residential center he operated in the poor Caribbean country.

Matthew Andrew Carter of Brighton, Mich., faces five counts of traveling from Florida to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors, along with one count of attempting child sex tourism.

Carter first took the stand Friday in Miami federal court. He resumed his testimony Tuesday.

Carter, who also went by the names “William Charles Harcourt” and “Bill Carter,” ran the Morning Star Center, first in Croix-des-Bouquets and then in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, from 1995 until 2011. His attorneys have described him as a military veteran who became a missionary and wanted to lift a generation of Haitian children out of poverty through education and Bible study.

When asked by his attorney, Phil Horowitz, whether he had ever traveled to Haiti to engage in sexual acts with children under the age of 18, Carter replied, “No, sir, never.”

Carter, 67, said he provided children at the center with food for their families and a daily allowance for school. He denied the allegations of sexual abuse made by former Morning Star residents, who testified earlier in his trial.

Earlier this month, on the first day of Carter’s trial, two former residents, now 28 and 31, said they felt he had no choice but to comply with the sexual demands of the man who paid for their food, clothes and education. One described sexual abuse from the ages of 9 through 14, and he said Carter gradually became more hostile toward him as he grew older. The other testified he never reported the sexual abuse he experienced and witnessed because of Carter’s status in the community.

Prosecutors called additional former Morning Star residents to the stand throughout the trial. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of alleged sexual abuse.

Haitian national police had investigated a few complaints of sexual misconduct at the center since 2003. Carter said he cooperated with the police and had notified the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince about the investigations.

Haitian authorities never charged Carter with any crime, nor did they shut down the center until after U.S. authorities arrested Carter in 2011 at Miami International Airport, just before he was to board a plane bound for Haiti.

Thousands of children in Haiti live in orphanages even though at least one parent may be living, and the closing of Carter’s center was a rare step for the Haitian government.

Carter’s attorneys rested their case Tuesday without calling any other witnesses. U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard denied their requests to take depositions from witnesses who could not travel from Haiti and from a Danish law enforcement officer who could not travel to Miami for medical reasons.

The officer was on a leave of absence and working with the United Nations in Haiti from 2006 through 2011. According to court documents, she had agreed to testify that she visited the Morning Star Center several times and never suspected that any of the children were victims of sexual abuse.

Under questioning by Horowitz, Carter said he allowed the children to freely speak with U.N. staff bringing food, medical supplies and tents to the center after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, as well as with Marines who visited the center amid the 2004 ouster of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Prosecutor Maria Medetis said the government planned to call rebuttal witnesses to the stand Wednesday.”

Trial: Man Denies Claims of Haiti Child Sex Abuse

[ABC 2/26/13 by Jennifer Kay/Associated Press]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “The case of a Michigan man accused of sexually abusing young residents of a group home he ran for poor children in Haiti has gone to a federal jury in Miami.”

“In closing arguments Thursday morning, defense attorney Stuart Adelstein said there were no photographs, videos, DNA or other physical evidence that supported the witnesses’ testimonies.

“There is absolutely nothing to corroborate or verify what people said,” Adelstein said.

Prosecutor Bonnie Kane said Carter targeted impoverished and vulnerable children and returned to Haiti year after year to force the children to satisfy his sexual demands.

“His pattern and routine was clear and well-established,” Kane said.

Carter forced the children to engage in sexual acts with him in exchange for food, clothes, toys, a place to sleep and an education, Kane said.

“Nothing was for free at the Morning Star Center,” she said.

Carter, who also went by the names “William Charles Harcourt” and “Bill Carter,” ran the Morning Star Center in Haiti, first in Croix-des-Bouquets and then in the capital of Port-au-Prince, from 1995 until 2011.

During the trial his attorneys portrayed him as a military veteran who became a missionary and wanted to lift a generation of Haitian children out of poverty through education and Bible study.

Former Morning Star residents testified in Miami federal court during the three-week trial that Carter forced them to perform sexual acts on him when they were children.

Carter denied the allegations when he testified Tuesday.

U.S. authorities arrested Carter on May 8, 2011, at Miami International Airport, just before he could board a flight to Haiti.

Carter testified that Haitian national police investigated multiple complaints of sexual misconduct on his part at the center over the last decade. Haitian authorities never charged him with any crime, nor did they shut down the center until after his arrest in the U.S.

“Morning Star stayed open because there was nothing improper going on,” Adelstein said.

Thousands of children in Haiti live in orphanages even though at least one parent may be living. The Haitian government took the rare step of shutting down the Morning Star Center after Carter’s 2011 arrest.

The first count of traveling from Florida to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Carter faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the remaining charges.”

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/02/28/miami-jury-deliberations-in-haiti-child-sex-abuse-case/

[CBS Miami 2/28/13]

“A federal jury in Miami has found a Michigan man guilty on five counts of traveling from Florida to Haiti to engage in sexual activity with minors.

The jury also found Matthew Andrew Carter guilty of one count of attempting child sex tourism.

The jury deliberated for about 90 minutes Thursday before convicting Carter.”

[Miami Herald 2/28/13 by Jennifer Kay/Associated Press]

“Carter, 67, had no reaction as the verdict was read, but denied the allegations when he testified Tuesday. Both prosecutors and Carter’s attorneys declined comment after the trial.”

“Judge Joan Lenard scheduled Carter’s sentencing hearing for May 20. The first count of traveling from Florida to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Carter faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the remaining charges.”

Matthew Andrew Carter Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Haitian Children; To Be Sentenced In Miami

[Huffington Post 2/28/13  by Jennifer Kay/Associated Press]

Update 2: “A sentencing hearing is set for a Michigan man convicted of traveling to Haiti to sexually abuse young residents of a group home he ran for poor children in the Caribbean country.

Matthew Andrew Carter was found guilty in February on five counts of traveling from Florida for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors, along with one count of attempting child sex tourism.

The former resident of Brighton, Michigan, will be sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court. The first count of traveling from Florida to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Carter faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the remaining charges.

Carter was arrested in 2011 in Miami.”

Sentencing hearing set for man convicted of sexually abusing children at home he ran in Haiti

[The Republic 7/30/13 by Associated Press]

Update 3: Matthew Andrew Carter is sentenced to 165 years in prison.

“A jury convicted Matthew Andrew Carter, 68, in February on five counts of traveling from the U.S. for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors, along with one count of attempt child sex tourism.

On the second day of Carter’s sentencing hearing, Judge Joan Lenard imposed the maximum sentence prosecutors sought: 15 years for the first count and 30 years in prison for each of the remaining charges.

Carter, who also went by the names “William Charles Harcourt” and “Bill Carter,” ran the Morning Star Center in Haiti, first in Croix-des-Bouquets and then in the capital of Port-au-Prince, from 1995 until his arrest at Miami International Airport in 2011.

Prosecutors said he targeted poor and vulnerable children. Former Morning Star residents testified during trial and again during sentencing that he forced them to engage in sexual acts with him when they were children in exchange for food, clothes, toys, shelter and school tuition.

Carter’s actions sullied America’s reputation for generosity and aid, Lenard said.

“I say to the victims of these crimes, as an American, America apologizes to you. This is not what America is about,” Lenard said.

Thousands of children in Haiti live in orphanages or group homes like the Morning Star Center even though at least one parent may be living. Carter testified during trial that Haitian national police investigated multiple complaints of sexual misconduct at the center over the last decade, but Haitian authorities never charged him with any crime, nor did they take the rare step of shutting down the home until after his arrest in the U.S.

Carter, formerly of Brighton, Mich., questioned the lack of physical evidence presented during his trial. He also disputed the credibility of the dozens of victims who testified against him and wrote letters to the judge for his sentencing.

Some had been expelled from the Morning Star Center for stealing, left in a dispute to join another minister’s program, or “got in with a very bad crew,” he said.

“Your honor, you’ve said these boys were very credible. I beg to differ,” Carter said.

Prosecutor Maria Medetis said that although all the victims who testified during trial were male, Carter also abused girls at the center. Altogether, U.S. authorities identified 52 victims they said were sexually abused by Carter over the years at the group home.

A female former resident said in a letter read by prosecutor Bonnie Kane that Carter sent her home on weekends, adding to the torment of the sexual and physical abuse she endured in exchange for regular meals and an education.

“He knew it was hell for me because we had no food,” she wrote. “I knew what I had to do to go to school.”

Four young men who once lived at the center said during Wednesday’s hearing that they had come to Carter when they had nowhere else to go, and though he may have fed, clothed and educated them, they continue to suffer mentally from the effects of his abuse.

One turned to address Carter face-to-face in English. “I don’t hate you. I do forgive you. You did do some good for me, but I think society doesn’t need someone like you, that you should be locked up for what you did,” he said.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of alleged sexual abuse.

Carter’s court-appointed defense attorneys declined comment. U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer said in a statement that Carter’s sentencing “brings to a close a horrific chapter in the lives of these victims.”

Carter has 14 days to file an appeal.”

165 years in prison for Mich. man who sexually abused children at group home he ran in Haiti

[The Washington Post 7/31/13 by Associated Press/Jennifer Kay]