Key facts
- Jeriah Mast, 45, pleaded guilty to federal charges of sexual abuse in Haiti.
- He admitted to abusing two boys in Haiti between 2004 and 2011.
- Mast previously confessed to molesting over 30 boys in Haiti and four children in Ohio.
- Mast faces a potential sentence of 25 to 33 years.
- He was previously convicted in Ohio state court for sexual abuse and received early release.
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry, Jeriah Mast, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of sexually abusing two boys in Haiti. Mast, of Millersburg, Ohio, entered the plea before Judge Donald C. Nugent in federal court in Cleveland. He had told police in 2019 that he had molested more than 30 boys in Haiti and four children in Ohio.
Under the plea agreement, Mast and prosecutors agreed that an appropriate sentence would be between 25 and 33 years, though the judge will have the final say. Sentencing is scheduled for December 15. Mast made trips to Haiti for mission work between 2002 and 2019, including several years for Christian Aid Ministries, which coordinates missionary activities supported by Amish, conservative Mennonite and related church groups. Mast belonged to a church in a related Anabaptist movement.
The indictment alleged abuse of four boys in Haiti, with Mast pleading guilty to charges involving the 2004 case and one of the 2011 cases, each involving a minor between 12 and 16 years old. Prosecutors agreed to move for dismissal of the remaining two charges, but Mast admitted to the factual basis of those charges. The charges were based on a U.S. law prohibiting citizens from engaging in illicit sexual conduct overseas.
Mast’s case has drawn attention to wider sexual abuse issues within conservative Anabaptist communities, where victims have reportedly been pressured to reconcile with abusers rather than seek prosecution. Mast was arrested on federal charges last November, shortly after receiving early release for a sexual abuse conviction in Ohio state court. He was sentenced in 2019 to nine years in prison on state charges of gross sexual imposition involving two boys in Ohio, but received early judicial release in October 2025 based on his record and remorse.
U.S. authorities had been investigating Mast’s actions in Haiti, but the probe had been dormant while he was in state prison. Federal prosecutors accelerated their investigation after learning of his early release. In 2019, Christian Aid Ministries placed two managers on leave after revelations they knew as early as 2013 that Mast had confessed to sexual misconduct but kept him on the job.