The United States attorney announced a four count federal indictment charging Paul Geer, 56, of Hancock, with three counts of coercing and enticing three children to travel across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity, and three counts of transporting the children across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with those children. He pleaded not guilty to the indictment April 4.
The indictment alleges that while Geer was a teacher at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, Geer imposed various disciplinary sanctions on students which were tantamount to torture, according to a press release. Geer is alleged to have deprived children of food or forced children to eat food that had been regurgitated, bound children in rugs and left them in isolated rooms for extended periods of time and forced children to perform physical labor. The indictment further alleges that in 1994, 2000, and 2001, Geer used his position of authority and his ability to impose brutal sanctions to coerce three students to travel with him, on separate occasions, to Maine, Pennsylvania, and Toronto, Canada. The indictment also charges that Geer transported the students across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with them. While on those trips, Geer raped or otherwise sexually abused each of the three children.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The three counts of coercion and enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to five years. The three counts of transporting children across state lines each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to five years. If convicted, Geer will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
The FBI is investigating the case. U.S. Attorneys are prosecuting the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc
Those with information about Paul Geer, the Family Foundation School, or other schools like it which may have marketed themselves as part of the “Troubled Teen Industry,” contact the FBI at FFStips@fbi.gov
The “Family Foundation” school operated in Hancock from approximately 1992 until 2014.
