Men rape 3 at orphanage, kill guard

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP):

More than a dozen men broke into a US-run orphanage in Haiti’s capital, killed the security guard and then raped two girls and a woman, the manager told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The incident occurred late Sunday at the Chanje Lakay orphanage in Port-au-Prince, manager Brayann Clerge said.

“The kids are traumatised,” he said.

Clerge said the men raped two orphan girls, ages 13 and 14, and a 27-year-old woman who works at the orphanage. He added that the 46-year-old guard who was killed was a father of six.

Before leaving, Clerge said, the men stole his wedding ring, a television and more than $1,500 in cash and also beat him and his wife.

No one has been arrested, and police did not immediately return a call for comment.

The orphanage is run by The Global Mission, a non-profit charity and non-denominational Christian ministry based in Orange County, California. Director Dave Brodsky told The Associated Press that their work in Haiti serves abandoned children.

“We will not further traumatise or stigmatise them by commenting publicly on an investigation into a tragic situation caused by criminals,” he said.

Arielle-Jeanty Villedrouin, director general for Haiti’s Institute for Social Welfare, said the orphanage has submitted necessary paperwork but has not been certified yet, and that officials were en route to investigate what occurred.

The orphanage has been operating for eight years and serves 36 boys and girls aged four to 18, according to Clerge, who said the orphans have been temporarily relocated for security reasons.