An American Christian missionary accused of sexually abusing girls at an orphanage he founded in Bomet county has been arrested in Lancaster, Philadelphia.
US federal prosecutors have said Gregory Dow- 60-year-old will be charged with sexually molesting four teenage girls.
Gregory is accused of four counts of violating US law against sexual contact with minors in foreign countries, US Attorney William McSwain said.
“It is one of the most heinous crimes, actually going out and sexually abusing young children,” said Joe Bushner, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s Philadelphia office.
FLED KENYA
Dow is accused of abuse from 2013 until 2017, when prosecutors say he fled back to the United States to avoid prosecution in Kenya.
Gregory and his wife Mary Rose had in 2008 settled on a 1.2 acre land in Boito, Bomet County, where they started the Dow Family Children’s Home.
The children’s home is described as refuge for orphaned and abandoned children on their website and fundraising promotional materials.
By 2015, more than 80 children found a home at the children’s home
But in 2017, Mr Dow fled Kenya never to come back after an arrest warrant was issued against him over claims he was sexually assaulting children under his care.
According to the Lancaster Online, before his travel to Kenya, Mr Dow had been convicted for sex-related crimes in the US and had actually served time.
After Mr Dow left Kenya, his wife tried to flee in September 2017 but was arrested by the police.
She was charged with cruelty to children by, among other things, having girls implanted with birth control devices.
LEFT ORPHANAGE BEHIND
According to police records, she was released on bond on September 16, 2017. She later fled the country leaving the orphanage behind.
Dow “purported to be a Christian missionary who would care for these orphans. They called him ‘Dad.’ But instead of being a father figure for them, he preyed on their youth and vulnerability,” prosecutors said in the court filing as quoted by AP.
A federal judge in Philadelphia on Friday ordered Gregory Dow to remain jailed until a detention hearing next week.
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