DAVIDSON, N.C. — A federal grand jury indicted Michael Hess, 73, of Davidson, on one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor outside the United States, the Department of Justice announced. Hess founded Papa’s House, an orphanage supported by Nepal Orphans Home, in 2005 and allegedly abused a child there between March 2005 and July 2008.
Hess is scheduled to make his initial court appearance at 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division announced the case. The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit and Charlotte Field Office are investigating, with assistance from the FBI’s New Delhi Law Enforcement Attaché Office.
Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section is prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the investigation, which spans conduct alleged to have occurred in Nepal over a period of more than three years.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice “to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” The program marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children and to identify and rescue victims.
The FBI is requesting anyone with information regarding the case or who may know someone victimized by Hess to contact the bureau at 1-800-CALL-FBI or through the FBI’s online tip portal. Identified victims may be eligible for certain services and rights under federal or state law.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.