Matthew Lane Durham, 21, a former missionary from Oklahoma convicted of sexually abusing children at an orphanage in Kenya was yesterday sentenced to 40 years in a federal prison. He had faced up to 30 years on each of four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.
He was also ordered to pay restitution of $15,863. Durham showed no emotion when the sentence was issued. He had asked the court for mercy, saying: “All I wanted was to follow God’s plan for me.” Durham targeted orphans while volunteering at the Upendo Children’s Home in Nairobi between April and June 2014.
He had served as a volunteer since 2012 at the orphanage, which specializes in caring for neglected children. He raped or sexually molested by force or threat, 4 children ranging in ages from 5 years to 14 years — some multiple times — in a span of just 33 days. He was 19 when he was charged in 2014.
