Florida Missionary Indicted for Child Exploitation Crimes in Haiti

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Thomas Osbeck, 70, of Ft. Myers, Florida, with engaging in, and attempting to engage in, illicit sexual conduct with minors in Haiti.

According to court documents, Osbeck routinely traveled from the United States to Haiti over the past three decades and sexually abused minors in that country. Osbeck was the founder of Jesus in Haiti Ministries and later Ignite Your Faith Ministries, through which he took in vulnerable children throughout the country.

The charges in the indictment are based on his sexual abuse of a Haitian boy between approximately 2004 and 2008, when the boy was approximately 8 through 12 years old, and his attempt to engage in a commercial sex act around 2019-2020 with another Haitian boy. Osbeck was taken into custody in Haiti at the end of September 2026 after an investigation by Haitian authorities and then returned to the United States on Oct. 14 where he was arrested by U.S. law enforcement upon landing at Miami International Airport. He has remained in custody since that time.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Yara Lorenzo Klukas for the Southern District of Florida; and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

FBI Miami is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie D. Waxman for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

Investigators believe Osbeck has victimized additional children. If you believe you may be a victim of Osbeck or have other information that could further law enforcement's investigation, you are encouraged to contact [email protected].

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.