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Former Teacher Pleads Guilty to Exploiting Children in Laos
BOSTON – A Lynn man was found guilty of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors he taught English in Laos.
Michael Sebastian, 56, pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 28, 2024.
According to the charging documents, Sebastian taught English to impoverished children in Laos. While teaching children there, Sebastian allowed certain students to live with him in his apartment. Students who were unable to pay for their living expenses performed “chores” around the house to earn credit towards their rent payments. One of the “chores” eligible for rent credit was to give Sebastian massages, during which Sebastian would be naked. As part of these massages, Sebastian required some students to touch his genitals and masturbate him in lieu of rent payment.
Between May 2018 and March 2020, Sebastian sexually abused three minor children who lived with him.
“Mr. Sebastian ingratiated himself into a position of trust and then manipulated his relationships to exploit vulnerable minors who sought refuge and education. His horrific conduct is a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Ensuring the safety of our children from an array of threats is an absolute top priority for this office. This case should send a resounding message to Americans in Massachusetts and beyond: predators will be identified, prosecuted and held accountable.”
The charge of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sebastian was arrested in July 2020 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2020. The case was primarily investigated by the FBI’s Legal Attache office in Bangkok, along with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit and the Boston FBI’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Chief of the Office’s Major Crimes Unit, and Trial Attorneys Nadia Prinz and Eduardo Palomo of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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