Oklahoma Teenager Charged with Sexually Abusing Kenyan Orphans during Mission Trips

By Lauren Leigh Noske
Kenya Sex Abuse - Matthew Lane Durham
Matthew Lane Durham, 19, faces federal sex abuse charges after he allegedly admitted to abusing children at a Kenyan orphanage where he was volunteering. (Facebook)

Matthew Durham is being charged with engaging in sexual activity with several young children in an orphanage during recent trips to Kenya.

Charisma News reports that the nineteen-year-old has volunteered at the Upendo Children's Home, which houses neglected and disabled children, several times. Durham had requested to stay at the orphanage with the children during his most recent trip to Kenya, rather than with a sponsor family off-site.

Durham allegedly molested both girls and boys between ages four and ten. He was confronted by a caretaker at the missionary home, and confessed to several instances of sexually abusing the children. The Edmond Sun reports that one of the children was HIV positive, and that Durham also admitted to struggling with same-sex attraction and child pornography.

The Oklahoma teen is held without bond until a preliminary hearing on August 1, and it is not known whether authorities will attempt to extradite and try him in Kenya. It is a federal crime for a United States citizen to travel to a foreign country and engage in unlawful sexual conduct with anyone under the age of 18. Durham will face life in prison if convicted.

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