Ohio
Ex-missionary pleads guilty to molesting 2 boys during Haiti trip
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys in Haiti, reaching an agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a prison sentence of at least 25 years.
Jeriah Mast, 45, of Millersburg, Ohio — who told police in 2019 he had molested more than 30 boys in Haiti and four children in Ohio — entered the plea before Judge Donald C. Nugent in federal court in Cleveland.
Under the plea agreement, Mast and prosecutors agreed that an “appropriate” sentence would be between 25 and 33 years, though the judge would have final say. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Mast took trips to Haiti for mission work between 2002 and 2019. That included several years of work for the Millersburg-based 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.
Mast’s case has drawn attention to wider sexual abuse issues in the conservative, plain-dressing Anabaptist communities, which include Old Order Amish and Mennonites. Advocates have said that amid the movement’s strong emphasis on forgiveness, victims have been pressured to reconcile with abusers and not to seek prosecution outside the disciplines of the largely closed religious communities.
Mast was arrested on federal charges last November, shortly after he received early release for a sexual abuse conviction in Ohio state court. Mast was formally indicted in December on four federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
The indictment alleged he abused four boys in Haiti — one each in 2004 and 2007 and two in 2011.
Mast’s guilty plea was 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, according to the plea agreement. But Mast admitted to the factual basis of the remaining charges in the plea agreement.
The charges were based on a U.S. law that prohibits citizens from engaging “in any illicit sexual conduct with another person” overseas, according to court filings.
Mast’s attorney filed a motion in May to get the charges dismissed, saying the law exceeded the constitutionality of Congress’ ability to regulate citizens’ conduct overseas. The court denied the motion in August. The plea agreement indicates Mast reserved the right to appeal that ruling.
“This type of predatory conduct — committed by someone entrusted with missionary work — represents a profound betrayal of trust, and today’s plea is an important step toward justice for the many victims harmed by Mast’s actions,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, in a statement.
Tuesday marked the second time Mast pleaded guilty in a sexual-abuse case. He was sentenced in Holmes County court in 2019 to nine years in prison on state charges of gross sexual imposition involving two boys in Ohio.
But in October 2025, Mast received an early judicial release from state prison and was placed on probation.
Retired Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of neighboring Tuscarawas County granted his release based on “an exemplary record” behind bars and “most importantly, the Defendant’s stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”
U.S. authorities had previously been investigating Mast’s actions in Haiti, but the probe had remained largely dormant while Mast was in state prison.
Federal prosecutors “accelerated” their investigation after learning of Mast’s early release from state prison, according to federal court records.
Holmes County, where Christian Aid Ministries is based, is the hub of one of the nation’s largest Amish settlements and also has significant Mennonite and related church populations.
In 2019, CAM placed two of its managers on leave amid revelations that they knew as early as 2013 that Mast had confessed to sexual misconduct, yet kept him on the job.
Massachusetts
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks the judge to spare her a second trial for killing her children
BOSTON (AP) — Lindsay Clancy shouldn’t be tried a second time for killing her three young children because prosecutors don’t have enough evidence, her lawyer told a judge Thursday, saying the court should decide she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.
Eleven of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility last Friday, but their deadlock forced the judge to declare a mistrial, leaving the case unresolved.
Attorney Kevin Reddington’s motion asked the same judge to acquit Clancy, which would prevent a second trial. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they’ll seek to put the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse on trial again.
Neither side disputed that Clancy strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy in the family’s home in 2023 before trying to end her own life. But her attorney said she was a loving mother in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors argued she knew what she was doing.
Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors had to prove either that Clancy did not have a mental disease or defect or that, despite having one, she retained the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions or conform her conduct to the law.
Reddington argued in Thursday’s court filing that prosecutors proved neither, and asked Judge William Sullivan to consider the motion at a court conference scheduled for Sept. 29.
The defense attorney said none of the psychiatric experts, either called by the prosecution or defense, disputed that Clancy was suffering from a mental illness.
Prosecutors pointed to Clancy’s actions in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the killings — driving, planning a child’s birthday party, bringing her daughter to a doctor’s appointment — and her ability to perform other everyday tasks as evidence she was of sound mind when the killings took place.
The judge acknowledged during jury deliberations that the trial had been emotionally and physically exhausting for everyone.
Clancy was brought to tears several times. At one point, the judge called a short break as Clancy’s loud sobs filled the courtroom while the children’s autopsy photos were shown. She remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from the home’s second story, and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.
Ex-missionary pleads guilty to molesting 2 boys during Haiti trip
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys in Haiti, reaching an agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a prison sentence of at least 25 years.
Jeriah Mast, 45, of Millersburg, Ohio — who told police in 2019 he had molested more than 30 boys in Haiti and four children in Ohio — entered the plea before Judge Donald C. Nugent in federal court in Cleveland.
Under the plea agreement, Mast and prosecutors agreed that an “appropriate” sentence would be between 25 and 33 years, though the judge would have final say. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Mast took trips to Haiti for mission work between 2002 and 2019. That included several years of work for the Millersburg-based 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.
Mast’s case has drawn attention to wider sexual abuse issues in the conservative, plain-dressing Anabaptist communities, which include Old Order Amish and Mennonites. Advocates have said that amid the movement’s strong emphasis on forgiveness, victims have been pressured to reconcile with abusers and not to seek prosecution outside the disciplines of the largely closed religious communities.
Mast was arrested on federal charges last November, shortly after he received early release for a sexual abuse conviction in Ohio state court. Mast was formally indicted in December on four federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
The indictment alleged he abused four boys in Haiti — one each in 2004 and 2007 and two in 2011.
Mast’s guilty plea was 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, according to the plea agreement. But Mast admitted to the factual basis of the remaining charges in the plea agreement.
The charges were based on a U.S. law that prohibits citizens from engaging “in any illicit sexual conduct with another person” overseas, according to court filings.
Mast’s attorney filed a motion in May to get the charges dismissed, saying the law exceeded the constitutionality of Congress’ ability to regulate citizens’ conduct overseas. The court denied the motion in August. The plea agreement indicates Mast reserved the right to appeal that ruling.
“This type of predatory conduct — committed by someone entrusted with missionary work — represents a profound betrayal of trust, and today’s plea is an important step toward justice for the many victims harmed by Mast’s actions,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, in a statement.
Tuesday marked the second time Mast pleaded guilty in a sexual-abuse case. He was sentenced in Holmes County court in 2019 to nine years in prison on state charges of gross sexual imposition involving two boys in Ohio.
But in October 2025, Mast received an early judicial release from state prison and was placed on probation.
Retired Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of neighboring Tuscarawas County granted his release based on “an exemplary record” behind bars and “most importantly, the Defendant’s stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”
U.S. authorities had previously been investigating Mast’s actions in Haiti, but the probe had remained largely dormant while Mast was in state prison.
Federal prosecutors “accelerated” their investigation after learning of Mast’s early release from state prison, according to federal court records.
Holmes County, where Christian Aid Ministries is based, is the hub of one of the nation’s largest Amish settlements and also has significant Mennonite and related church populations.
In 2019, CAM placed two of its managers on leave amid revelations that they knew as early as 2013 that Mast had confessed to sexual misconduct, yet kept him on the job.
Massachusetts
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks the judge to spare her a second trial for killing her children
BOSTON (AP) — Lindsay Clancy shouldn’t be tried a second time for killing her three young children because prosecutors don’t have enough evidence, her lawyer told a judge Thursday, saying the court should decide she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.
Eleven of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility last Friday, but their deadlock forced the judge to declare a mistrial, leaving the case unresolved.
Attorney Kevin Reddington’s motion asked the same judge to acquit Clancy, which would prevent a second trial. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they’ll seek to put the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse on trial again.
Neither side disputed that Clancy strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy in the family’s home in 2023 before trying to end her own life. But her attorney said she was a loving mother in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors argued she knew what she was doing.
Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors had to prove either that Clancy did not have a mental disease or defect or that, despite having one, she retained the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions or conform her conduct to the law.
Reddington argued in Thursday’s court filing that prosecutors proved neither, and asked Judge William Sullivan to consider the motion at a court conference scheduled for Sept. 29.
The defense attorney said none of the psychiatric experts, either called by the prosecution or defense, disputed that Clancy was suffering from a mental illness.
Prosecutors pointed to Clancy’s actions in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the killings — driving, planning a child’s birthday party, bringing her daughter to a doctor’s appointment — and her ability to perform other everyday tasks as evidence she was of sound mind when the killings took place.
The judge acknowledged during jury deliberations that the trial had been emotionally and physically exhausting for everyone.
Clancy was brought to tears several times. At one point, the judge called a short break as Clancy’s loud sobs filled the courtroom while the children’s autopsy photos were shown. She remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from the home’s second story, and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.
