Texas men charged in plot to attack Haitian island and enslave women, children as sex slaves | Breaking News

Two young men from Texas are facing federal charges after prosecutors say they conspired to invade an island off the Haitian coast, murder its male residents and enslave the women and children—a disturbing scheme that prosecutors allege was intended to facilitate mass killings and sexual enslavement on the island of La Gonâve.

Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, were indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas on two federal counts: conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country, and production of child pornography. The indictment, unsealed Nov. 20, outlines a months-long plan allegedly targeting La Gonâve, a large island west of mainland Haiti.

According to prosecutors, Weisenburg and Thomas made preparations between August 2024 and July 2025 to launch an armed assault on the island. They allegedly planned to purchase a sailboat, acquire firearms and ammunition, and recruit men to join them from the homeless population in Washington, D.C. Their goal, authorities said, was to kill all the men on the island and enslave the remaining women and children.

The two men allegedly studied Haitian Creole, made logistical plans, and enrolled in educational programs to support the plot. Prosecutors said Thomas also enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to gain military training relevant to the plan.

If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder abroad, each man faces up to life in federal prison. The child pornography charge carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Celina Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker.

“Many of the young women here are the victims of extreme poverty and insecurity, to the extent that the lack of basic services and opportunities that they have access to means that they become vulnerable to abuse,” said Nahomy Augustin a project coordinator for Spotlight Initiative, a global Initiative of the United Nations supported by the European Union to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, in a 2022 interview.

Past abuse cases highlight ongoing risk in Haiti

While the allegations in this case are extreme, Haiti has a long history of being targeted by foreign nationals who exploit its most vulnerable citizens—particularly children—under the guise of charitable work.

In 2010, Douglas Perlitz, a missionary from Connecticut who ran Project Pierre Toussaint in Cap-Haïtien, pleaded guilty to charges of sexually abusing boys in his care. Perlitz used donor support and religious affiliations to operate his school for years before victims came forward. He was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison.

Also in 2010, Laura Silsby, an American missionary from Idaho, was arrested while attempting to take 33 Haitian children out of the country in the aftermath of the earthquake. Silsby claimed she was rescuing orphans, but many of the children had living parents. She was convicted of arranging illegal travel in Haiti and served time in the Dominican Republic.

Michael Geilenfeld, an American who operated orphanages in Port-au-Prince, faced multiple lawsuits and public accusations over several years from former residents alleging physical and sexual abuse. While he denied the allegations and was not criminally convicted, the civil proceedings and media attention drew scrutiny of oversight in Haiti’s orphanage sector.

Child welfare organizations have repeatedly warned about the dangers of unregulated orphanages in Haiti. A 2020 government estimate found more than 30,000 children living in such institutions—most with at least one living parent. Many operate without licenses, making them vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this,” said Ilias Chatzis, chief of UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section. “We need prevention, education, survivor engagement and technology on our side. It’s an all-hands-on-deck problem.”

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