Oklahoma man gets 40 years in prison in Kenya orphans' abuse

[WhiteTara]

Source: AP

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former missionary from Oklahoma convicted of sexually abusing children at an orphanage in Kenya was sentenced Monday to 40 years in a federal prison.

U.S. District Judge David L. Russell handed down the sentence to Matthew Lane Durham, 21, who had faced up to 30 years on each of four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. He also ordered Durham, of Edmond, to pay restitution of $15,863.

"These were heinous crimes committed on the most vulnerable victims. He was their worst nightmare come true," Russell said.

Durham, wearing an orange prison-issued jumpsuit, read a statement before sentencing in which he asked the court for mercy but did not express remorse for the offenses he was convicted of. Durham showed no emotion when the sentence was issued.

Prosecutors alleged Durham targeted orphans while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home in Nairobi between April and June 2014. Durham had served as a volunteer since 2012 at the orphanage, which specializes in caring for neglected children.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/sentencing-set-oklahoma-man-convicted-abusing-orphans-061252926.html

[uppityperson]

1. A messed up 19 yr old man messes up a bunch of traumatized young kids. Heartbreaking

[WhiteTara]

2. h just wanted to follow

God's plan for him...to hurt innocent children

[FailureToCommunicate]

3. Evil shits like this guy walk among us, but we obsess over whether pointing fingers is sexist?

It's a messed up world sometimes.

[FLPanhandle]

4. Oklahoma has the death penalty

This is a good use of it.

[WhiteTara]

7. Well

they were little black and brown children so maybe OK didn't think it was that bad.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Federal crime - Federal court - Federal Penitentiary

And federal paroles are as rare as hen's teeth these days. He's gonna be parked for a LONG time: Prisoners serving sentences of more than a year but less than life can earn up to 54 days per year off their sentences for good behavior.

[keithbvadu2]

5. "missionary" - It's not just Catholic priests.

"missionary" - It's not just Catholic priests.

He belongs to some Christian organization but they seem to be very silent at the moment.

[LiberalElite]

8. Missionaries aren't just Catholics and aren't just priests

Nuns and also laypeople can be missionaries. Many missionaries are from some Protestant denomination or other. Mormons send young adults out on missions all over. It's a kind of rite of passage.

[asiliveandbreathe]

6. An Edmond church OK missionary -

Which church - notice they do not specify which church...St. Luke told him to do it...are you kidding me - I hope he gets extradited to Kenya..I hear it ain't too comfortable....

Children - children - on his fourth trip - he skipped out of Kenya just as the US arrest warrant was called for....Restitution $15,8 grand??? Are you kidding me - how do they know it is only during his fourth trip - he probably thought his first three trips went so well he would opt for a fourth....40 years???? - life for 4 counts (that they know of) seems to fit the crime perfectly....where do these creeps learn this crap...home? Church?

I do not agree with the death penalty - but I sure as heck would love to see him sent back to Kenya....Upendo Childrens Home..neglected kids....most of these kids have NO parents..and then - a creep like this is allowed to volunteer????Who the hell vetted this miscreant...

Yep - I'm bloody mad...

[cannabis_flower]

10. A lot was left out of this story.

It said that he was 19 at the time. I'm wondering how old these orphans were and exactly what type of sexual abuse we are talking about. It would be quite a difference in if the orphans were 10-12 or 16-17. If it was the former, then that would be reprehensible. If it was the later, was it intercourse, fondling and were the orphans willing or were they forced or coerced.

It would be quite different for a 19 year old to have raped a 10 year old, than say a 19 year old feeling up a 17 year old.

I'm not excusing sexual abuse but exactly what happened?

[cannabis_flower]

11. Update with more information

Prosecutors have alleged that Durham of Edmond engaged in sex acts with as many as ten children aged 4 to 10 - including one who is HIV positive - while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home near Nairobi from April to June 2014.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2717404/Oklahoma-missionary-admitted-raping-children-Kenyan-orphanage-claims-possessed-demon-named-Luke-Every-night-Luke-gets-Luke-wants.html#ixzz42HBEY9TK
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Now I agree, absolutely reprehensible. Throw the book at him.

[Judi Lynn]

12. This missionary doesn't seem any too undone by guilt over this.

I believe some dirtbags like this one feel it really doesn't matter too much what the hell happens to the victims since they are only "heathens," to start with. It's not as if they were "Amurkans."

He seems too damned complacent. He needs someone to put the fear of his very own karma in him.

[center] [/center]

[Grins]

15. He's 5'6" !!!!

It's gonna' be tough on the little guy, considering where he is going.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Court hears chilling confession letters from missionary about holding down and raping children while

Court hears chilling confession letters from missionary about holding down and raping children while he was volunteering in a Kenyan orphanage

Matthew Lane Durham, 20, is accused of sexually abusing up to ten children, ages four to ten, while volunteering in Kenya

Durham, of Edmond, Oklahoma, has pleaded not guilty to the 17 charges he faces engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places

Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gifford spent part of his opening arguments reading excerpts of Durham's confession

Durham's lawyer says isn't true and was coerced into confessing

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 12:46 EST, 10 June 2015 | Updated: 13:54 EST, 10 June 2015



An Oklahoma man accused of sexually abusing several children at a Kenyan orphanage where he volunteered confessed to his misdeeds in writing, a federal prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gifford spent part of his opening arguments reading excerpts of 20-year-old Matthew Lane Durham's confession, which Durham's lawyer says isn't true and was coerced.

'I would take her to the bathroom at night and hold her down and rape her,' Gifford said, reading a section pertaining to the alleged assault of a 12-year-old girl.



2983E41600000578-3117771-image-a-3_1433960782494.jpg

Quoting another that pertained to a boy at the Upendo Children's Home in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Gifford read: 'At night I took him to the bathroom and had him perform oral sex on me.'

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3117771/Trial-gets-underway-man-accused-abusing-Kenyan-kids.html#ixzz42HDAEelR

These poor, poor children had NO ONE to turn to for help.

Damn this big bully to hell.

[WhiteTara]

14. 40 years isn't enough.