He was supposed to be at the Kenyan children’s home helping out with the underprivileged kids there, but now the teen missionary is being accused of raping and molesting them, KTLA 5 reports.
Matthew Durham, 19, of Edmond, Okla., admitted to raping young girls and forcing some of the young boys to perform oral sex on him, sometimes even as other children watched, according to court records, the news station reported.
“This is a young man in our community that made choices to exploit children in an orphanage,” U.S. Attorney Sanford Coats told KTLA 5. “It’s a true tragedy all the way around.”
According to KTLA 5, Durham volunteered for a group called Upendo, something he had done before, but on his last visit to the country he “requested to stay at the children’s home in an ‘overflow bunk’ rather than at an offsite facility.”
Victims of Durham’s alleged assault said that the older male “often touched them in a sexual manner or told them to touch themselves while he watched,” KTLA reported.
“A caretaker at the orphanage noticed something wasn’t right and confronted Mr. Durham. He admitted to some of the acts,” Coats said.
Boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 9 are suspected to be victims. KTLA reports that an affidavit confirms that at least one of the children had HIV.
The 19-year-old, who is currently being held without bond, can be made to answer for his alleged crimes in his home state, officials say.
Read more at KTLA 5.