Federal prosecutors have indicted a former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry on charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with four minors in Haiti over several years.
Jeriah Mast, 44, of Millersburg, Ohio, faces charges for alleged actions during repeated trips to Haiti between 2002 and 2019. Authorities say Mast admitted to abusing about 30 victims in Haiti and more in Ohio. He worked part of that time for Millersburg-based Christian Aid Ministries, which coordinates missionary work for Amish, conservative Mennonite, and related groups.
This indictment marks his second court case. In 2019, a Holmes County court sentenced Mast to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two minors in Ohio.
Mast secured an early judicial release in October after serving just under six years, according to Ohio’s inmate database. His release required three years of supervised probation and completion of an intensive supervision program that included sex-offender specific treatment.
Court records show retired Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of Tuscarawas County granted his release based on what he described as an “exemplary record” in prison and, “most importantly,” Mast’s “stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”
Authorities arrested Mast on the federal charges on Nov. 5, and a grand jury formally indicted him on Tuesday. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in federal court in Cleveland.
“Crimes against children, like those mentioned in these allegations, are reprehensible,” U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement. “Such appalling and morally corrupt behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We commend the work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, whose thorough work led to these federal charges being filed today.”
The charges rely on a U.S. law that prohibits citizens from “traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another person,” according to court filings.
Court records list a public defender for Mast. The attorney did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment late Wednesday.
The Mast scandal first became public in 2019 after he suddenly returned to the United States from Haiti. During an interview with Holmes County authorities, he admitted to molesting about 30 children in Haiti between roughly 2003 and 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court by Special Agent Jason M. Guyton of Homeland Security Investigations. His admissions indicate many, if not all, of the victims were boys.
Federal prosecutors accuse Mast of abusing four different minors in 2004, 2007, and 2011. One allegation involves a 13-year-old boy Mast met through his missionary work and allegedly molested in a tent, according to the complaint.
The case highlighted concerns about sexual abuse within Amish and similar plain-dressing church communities, including conservative Mennonites and the Charity churches Mast attended. Advocates say victims have been pressured to forgive abusers and avoid seeking criminal prosecution outside their insular religious communities.
Holmes County, home to Christian Aid Ministries, anchors one of the nation’s largest Amish settlements. In 2019, CAM placed two managers on leave after reports surfaced that they knew as early as 2013 that Mast had confessed to sexual activity with young men but allowed him to remain in his position.
A CAM spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
CAM’s mission in Haiti drew international attention in 2021 when a gang kidnapped 17 missionaries and their children. CAM later acknowledged that a third party paid ransom for some of them, while most of the others escaped.
On Wednesday, federal court in Washington sentenced Joly Germine — alleged founder and leader of the gang — to life in prison for orchestrating the kidnapping.
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