A Texas man who was in charge of an orphanage in Malawi was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for sexual abusing the children in his care, Reuters reports.
Gerald Campbell, 66, pleaded guilty in May to his crimes and could have faced up to life in prison, Reuters notes, according to papers filed in federal court.
Campbell, originally of Odessa, Texas, reportedly reached a plea deal with prosecutors and admitted to abusing eight minors, all of whom were orphans living at the Victory Christian Children's Home in Malawi, between 1997 and 2009, prosecutors said.
“Campbell admitted that he knew that what he was doing was wrong and that he thought nobody would believe the minors if they reported the abuse,” prosecutors said in a statement.
He admitted to investigators in the U.S. that he lured the children, one of whom was infected with HIV, into his home to abuse them. His home, which had more amenities than the orphanage, was used to entice some of the children to live with him for several months, according to court documents.
Read more at Reuters.