How sex crimes teen fled Kenya

Police say an American teenager accused of molesting children in Kiambu County was not arrested in Kenya because he flew out on the day the report was received.

Mr Matthew Lane Durham was last week indicted in a US court for sex crimes at an orphanage near Juja town.

Court records say the 19-year-old confessed to raping several young girls and forcing some boys to perform oral sex on him.

Ruiru police boss Isaac Thuranira on Thursday said a complaint had been received about Mr Durham but he left the country as they waited for a medical examination on the children.

Mr Thuranira, however, said police could get him back to face the same charges after he is tried in the US.

“It is a good thing the US authorities were also on the case because the ultimate aim is to bring the culprit to book. We have an extradition agreement with the US and the file is before the criminal division,” he said.

“We were informed by an official at the home about an American teenager who had confessed to abusing children. But we were also told he had booked a flight and left on the same day,” Mr Thuranira said.

Mr Durham, who was arrested in the US a few weeks after he left Kenya, is expected to stand trial in Oklahoma next week.

The teenager is said to have volunteered to work at Upendo Children’s Home between April and June this year where he allegedly committed sex crimes on children aged between four and nine.

CUSTODIAN BECAME SUSPICIOUS

Court documents show that on his most recent trip, Mr Durham requested to stay at the children’s facility rather than with the sponsors, saying he wanted to be closer to them.

In June, a custodian at the home became suspicious when he saw Mr Durham lying close to some of the children late in the night.

He said when he asked the children what happened, some told him he had touched them inappropriately and had asked them to touch themselves as he watched. The caretaker then reported the matter to the home’s sponsor.

Upendo Children’s Home is part of the charity network Upendo Kids International founded by Kenyan-American couple Robert and Eunice Menja. The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology alumni are said to have settled in Oklahoma to “serve God.”

A janitor at the home who asked not to be named said the orphanage had about 30 children and the missionaries often visited it as well as schools around Juja town.

Police said medical examinations indicated that one of the children was HIV positive, but it was not clear whether the infection arose from Mr Durham’s alleged misconduct.

Police in Oklahoma apprehended him on July 17 and he appeared in court the next afternoon. He is being held without bond and his case will start on August 1.