CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A judge sentenced a former minister to 25 years in prison on Friday for engaging in illicit sexual conduct while on mission trips in Haiti. Larry Bollinger, 68, of Gastonia, N.C., was also ordered to serve a lifetime under court supervision following his prison term and to register as a sex offender. Bollinger pleaded guilty in January 2013 to two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
Bollinger was a former minister who performed missionary work in Haiti. Court records show that Bollinger travelled regularly to Haiti because of his involvement with the Lazarus Project, a charity that supports two charitable organizations in the country, the Hope House and The Village of Hope School. Documents say from August 2009 to October 2009, Bollinger sexually molested four Haitian females, between the ages of 11 and 16.
One of the victims said that Bollinger offered to pay her food and money in exchange for sexual acts.
The final restitution amount to Bollinger’s victims will be determined by the court within the next 90 days. Bollinger has been in federal custody since he was charged in May 2012. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
