Jesse Osmun, Child Sex Abuse, Connecticut 2011

Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Crimes in South Africa

A Milford man has pleaded guilty to traveling from the United States to South Africa and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with children, announced U.S. Attorney David B. Fein of the District of Connecticut. Jesse Osmun, 32, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to one count of the crime.

While serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa, Osmun committed horrific crimes, said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.  He was supposed to be helping young children in need, many of whom were orphans, but instead, he preyed upon them, sexually abusing several young girls under the age of six.  He betrayed the Peace Corps and the children he had traveled to South Africa to help.

According to court documents, the investigation revealed that, while volunteering at a non-governmental organization (NGO) in South Africa, Osmun enticed four young girls, all of whom were under the age of six, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with him.  Osmun persuaded the children to engage in this conduct by playing games with them and providing them with gifts.

Osmun was sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer in March 2009 and began his service at the NGO in South Africa. In May 2011, Osmun resigned from the Peace Corps after being confronted by the program director of the NGO with allegations of sexual abuse. He returned to the United States on June 2, 2011. Shortly thereafter, Peace Corps OIG and ICE HSI agents, working with members of the South African Police Services, began investigating the allegations of abuse.

“For his predatory conduct, he faces up to 30 years in prison,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. The crimes of this former volunteer are reprehensible, said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. The Peace Corps has no tolerance for abuse of any kind, and our deepest sympathies are with all the victims involved.

U.S. Attorney Fein commended the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General (OIG), ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the South African Police Service for their prompt and thorough investigation of child sexual abuse. Their efforts undoubtedly protected children from future harm and removed a dangerous child predator from society.

“I hope that this guilty plea sends a clear message that we will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who engage in this behavior to ensure that there is no place to hide here in the United States or anywhere in the world,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Bruce M. Foucart. The investigation represents the very essence of the determination of federal, state and local law enforcement authorities to capture and prosecute an individual whose primary objective was to sexually abuse vulnerable children.

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