Gerald Campbell, 66, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing orphan boys in Malawi. Image courtesy of the New York Post.
Yet another white man has been sentenced for the sexual abuse of young boys at an African orphanage.
Gerald Campbell, 66, of Odessa, Texas was sentenced to 25 years behind bars Tuesday for sexually abusing children in his care at an orphanage he ran in Malawi.
Campbell, who served as the orphanage manager, pleaded guilty to his crimes back in May 2016. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a judge also ordered Campbell to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to pay $40,000 in restitution.
The former manager entered into a plea deal and admitted to engaging in illicit sexual activity with eight young boys, all of whom where orphans at the Victory Christian Children’s Home in Malawi. The abuse took place between 1997 and 2009, U.S. prosecutors said.
“Campbell admitted that he used his position as orphanage manager, with access to better accommodations and amenities, such as hot water, to lure the minor victims, one of whom was suffering from the effects of HIV, into his house and sexually abuse them,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Campbell also told investigators that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but figured no one would believe the minors if they ever built up the courage to report the abuse. He even went so far as to send a few of the boys “hush” money so they wouldn’t tell the authorities.
According to the DOJ, the disturbing case against Campbell was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
This case also underscores the troubling trend of abuse committed by white foreigners against African children. Earlier this year, an Oklahoma missionary named Matthew Lane Durham was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting four children while working in a Kenyan orphanage, Atlanta Black Star reports. In addition, he was ordered to pay $15,863 in restitution.
Durham, 21, was charged with raping three girls, aged 5, 9, and 15, at the Upendo Children’s Center in Nairobi, prosecutors said. He also molested a 12-year-old boy at least twice.
“These were heinous crimes committed on the most vulnerable victims,” said presiding Judge David L. Russell. “He was their worst nightmare come true.”
To make matters worse, the United Nations reported six cases of sexual abuse by French and European Union troops against children in the Central African Republic back in January. According to The Guardian, a 7-year-old girl was reportedly forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for water and cookies. The publication also reported 22 confirmed allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in CAR.
In 2013, British Airways reached a settlement of an undisclosed amount with 38 children from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania over alleged sexual abuse by one of its pilots, Officer Simon Wood, ABS reports. The 54-year-old ultimately committed suicide before he was scheduled to appear in court on molestation charges.
