A Stuarts Draft, Virginia man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for traveling from the United States to Haiti and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
James Daniel Arbaugh, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of traveling in foreign commerce from the United States to Haiti in or about 2016 to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18. The defendant will be sentenced on June 13 at 10:30 a.m.
According to facts admitted by the defendant during the guilty plea, Arbaugh has lived in Haiti for approximately 15 years and has traveled regularly back to the United States during that time. The defendant admitted that in 2016, while in Haiti, he engaged in illicit sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 by touching the minor’s genitals under the minor’s clothing.
Fox News reported: He lived in Haiti for at least a decade and described himself on a personal blog as a missionary with a group called “Walking Together for Christ Haiti.”
A federal affidavit filed by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations says a counselor in Virginia reported Arbaugh to authorities in September after he allegedly disclosed sexual contact with boys. The affidavit alleges he told investigators in subsequent interviews that he “groomed” or had sexual contact including oral sex with at least 21 boys. One 5-year-old boy he allegedly molested was the son of a pastor in Jeremie, a city devastated last year by Hurricane Matthew.
