A Lancaster County, Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Special Agent in Charge Michael Driscoll of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office made the announcement.
Gregory Dow, 61, pleaded guilty to four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, before U.S. District Court Judge Edward G. Smith. Sentencing is set for Sept. 29, 2020.
According to the plea agreement, Dow, an American citizen, traveled to the Republic of Kenya in 2008 to start an orphanage which came to be known as the Dow Family Children’s Home. While running the orphanage with his wife, he sexually abused, on multiple occasions, four minor girls between October 2013 and September 2017. During this time period, he maintained ties to the United States.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance from Kenyan authorities and local law enforcement in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Trial Attorneys Lauren S. Kupersmith and Lauren E. Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Stengel of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case.
