This article originally appears on Milford Patch.
Jesse Osmun, age 33 of Milford, was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for sexually abusing four minor girls, all under the age of six, while he was a volunteer with the United States Peace Corps 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 and Homeland Security Investigations agents, working with members of the South African Police Services, began investigating the allegations of abuse.
The investigation revealed that, while volunteering, Osmun enticed four young girls, all of whom were under the age of six, to engage in illicit sexual acts with him.
Osmun persuaded the children to engage in this conduct by playing games with them and providing them with candy. Osmun sexually abused one of the victims approximately two times a week over the course of approximately five months.
. On June 27, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of traveling from the United States to South Africa to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children.
Osmun has been detained since his arrest.
"I appreciate the well-coordinated efforts of the Department of Justice, Peace Corps OIG, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the South African Police Service, to ensure that justice was served in this case," said Peace Corps Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. "The Peace Corps has no tolerance for abuse of any kind, and our deepest sympathies are with all the victims involved."
"As this sentence demonstrates, there will be no refuge for child sexual predators who believe that they can victimize children outside the United States," said Peter Vincent, director of HSI's Office of International Affairs.
