This archive report was first published on 13 July 2019.
July 13, 2019
US officials have arrested Gregory Dow, a 60-year-old American man accused of sexually molesting girls at a Bomet orphanage he founded with a church's help.
Dow, who is facing charges of sexual abuse of girls at the Dow Family Children's Home in Kapsiratet village, is accused of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with four different minor victims in Kenya between October 14, 2013, and September 13, 2014.
According to US lawyer William McSwain, Dow will face four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign county (Kenya). McSwain commented on the charges during a press briefing at the Lancaster County courthouse.
“From or about October 14, 2013, until on or about September 13, 2014, the defendant engaged in, and attempted to engage in, illicit sexual conduct with four different minor victims in Kenya,” McSwain said.
Dow and his wife Mary Rose founded the Dow Family Children's Home in 2013 after selling their farm in East Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania. The orphanage, which was described as a refuge for orphaned and abandoned children, was home to more than 79 children by 2015.
However, in 2017, Dow fled Kenya after an arrest warrant was issued against him over claims he was sexually assaulting children under his care. His wife was later arrested and charged with cruelty to children, including implanting girls with birth control devices.
