An American school founder who young Haitian men once hailed as a savior was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing them.

Douglas Perlitz, 40, was sentenced in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, to 19 years and 7 months behind bars for abusing the Haitian men when they were boys under his care, said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston.

“We’re very pleased with the sentence,” he said. “He was brought to justice and I hope it sends a strong message to people who are doing that or who are even thinking about doing that.”

Judge Janet Bond Arterton imposed the sentence, which includes 10 years of supervised release.

Perlitz arrived in the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien in 1997. There, he opened a charitable school called the Project Pierre Toussaint (PPT). He got homeless boys off the streets and gave them shelter, food and education.

“When I met Mr. Douglas, he appeared to us like Jesus Christ himself come to rescue us,” said Francilien Jean-Charles, who was only 12 when he was plucked by Perlitz and brought to the school.

Over the years, PPT grew into a 10-acre compound with dorms, classrooms and a soccer field.

Perlitz frequently flew back to Fairfield, Connecticut, to raise money. According to court documents, from 2002 to 2008, donors gave more than $2 million to help care for the kids. Perlitz’s alma mater, Fairfield University, awarded him an honorary degree in 2002 for helping homeless boys in Haiti.

But Perlitz was hardly the man he appeared to be.

“I thanked God when I met Douglas,” said Jean-Charles. “But when things started to turn bad, I realized it would have been better if I never came to PPT.”

Perlitz wore a watch that lit up and at night, he used it to seek out the boys, they said. Fredlin Legrand said he woke up to see Perlitz next to him.

“He gave me a pill that made me fall asleep and when I woke up, I found my pants covered in sperm,” Legrand told CNN.

Jean-Charles and a dozen other boys told CNN they were routinely raped by Perlitz for years. But they were afraid to speak out against the man who had been such a boon for the city.

Finally, in 2007, some of the boys approached their teachers and other adults. No one believed what they were hearing.

Brian Russell, a donor for the school, said Perlitz was a miracle maker, not a pedophile.

“There was no way that this man could have committed these things that people were accusing him of. It seemed utterly out of the realm of possibility,” Russell said. “There was too much goodness. The heart was too big.”

The boys grew desperate. They painted graffiti on the outer walls of the school, most of which has been painted over. But one plea for help still exists: “Welcome, Haitian National Police.”

The police never came, but journalist Cyrus Sibert noticed the writing on the wall.

“I told the boys, I will go to the end with you,” Sibert said. “Are you ready?”

But even after Sibert aired his interviews with the boys, Haitian authorities and American donors still did not believe the accusations.

It was only after an American volunteer at the school relayed accusations of older boys raping younger ones that red flags went up. Russell said the volunteer demanded from the headmaster that something be done immediately.

His response was: “Well, that’s really hard because Douglas has been doing this for the last 10 years.”

Russell felt broken, betrayed.

“I felt like all the money I had donated, the time that I had given, something that we had worked so hard for was gone.”

In September 2009, U.S. ICE agents picked up the case and arrested Perlitz. He denied the accusations, but in August, Perlitz pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He also admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with eight minors.

The defense requested a delay in sentencing, contending Haiti’s January earthquake, cholera outbreak and election-related street violence made it impossible to thoroughly review the prosecution’s claims against Perlitz. The court denied the request.

In addition, the defense maintained that Perlitz himself was a victim of sexual abuse. According to a defense memorandum, while he was at Fairfield University, “a priest began a relationship with Doug that … ultimately took on a dark aspect, both physically and spiritually, that had a significant and long-lasting impact on him.”

The prosecution quickly responded, saying: “Perlitz’s sexual abuse of minors, abuse which lasted for a decade or more, shows him to be nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing — an American man who traveled to Haiti purporting to care for homeless children when in reality he preyed upon the desperation of these children so that he could sexually abuse them.”

Some of the boys, now young men, were in court Tuesday for the sentencing. They faced the man who abused them for years and spoke about their experience, bringing a sense of reality to the courtroom, said Foucart. They testified about how afraid of Perlitz they were and how he threatened to throw them out of the school and back on the streets if they spoke up.

Paul Kendrick, an advocate for victims of abuse familiar with the case, was in court. He said Perlitz apologized to his victims at one point during the proceeding.

“The judge, I thought, gave a very strong sentence and a very strong message,” said Kendrick. “American citizens will be held accountable for their actions with minors no matter where they are in the world.”

We drove past a heavily fortified prison and psychiatric ward while heading to our destination – New Jersey’s Distribution Center located in the capital of Trenton.

It’s the hub from where supplies (like boxes of printer paper) are shipped across the state. Long tractor trailers move in and out of the large warehouse on a daily basis.

But once a month, that warehouse becomes a money making hot spot for the state – the Government Vehicle Auction. You can bid on anything from former police cars to seized vehicles, Chevy Suburbans to Dodge Stratuses.

Jacob Olearchik, who runs the vehicle sale lot, said the state is putting more items on the auction block, and people are coming to find deals.

“This car right here,” said Olearchik as he pointed to a green Ford Escort, “if you go to a used car lot, they’ll put a $4,000 price tag on that car, maybe a $3,500 price tag on that car. Right now you can buy that car here tomorrow for $1,800 or maybe less.”

The economic downturn has been a boon for government auctions in all 50 states, which are also online and sell items like laptops, jewelry and furniture. New Jersey last year raked in $2.4 million in sales. We were there for the preview the day before Saturday’s auction. Potential buyers on lunch break walked up and down the aisle of vehicles parked bumper-to-bumper. Some were regulars.

“I think new cars are a rip off,” said Gary Nickerson, “you can get a deal [at the auction] for not a lot of money.”

Nickerson was one of many who stopped at vehicles they liked to rev the engines, got on their knees and checked the tires, even wiped and sniffed the oil sticks. Defects and mileage are scrawled on the car windows, and buyers take the car “as is” but Olearchik and his mechanics make sure the car is safe.

“Before we park the vehicle, we’ll test drive it,” said Olearchik,”like the breaks definitely work.”

Others were new to the experience, like mother and son duo Tenshia and Dyamond Ruffin. She said she was looking for an expendable yet affordable first car for her teenager.

“I would not begin to go out and try to purchase a brand new car the way things are going,” Mrs. Ruffin said about the recession. “With the auction, if you have the funds you can buy it, get your title, and you’re done.”

It’s a quick win-win deal for both buyer and dealer. Citizens save money; government make money. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine stopped by Friday’s preview to give his best sales pitch.

“You’re getting a good value for your money,” said Gov. Corzine about how you score more for paying less. “So people are taking the opportunity to save money in a tough environment.”

On Saturday’s auction day in the span of six hours, 119 vehicles were auctioned off and 163 bidders went home happy.

“I’ve been coming here for 25 years,” said one bidder, “so I’ve been doing a lot of helping with the economy.”

He ended up with a 2001 Chevy Malibu, and the state with an additional $1,700 in its coffers.

EDGEWATER, New Jersey (CNN) — People steadily file into movie theater No. 4, but they’re not carrying buckets of popcorn or soda — instead, it’s Bibles and coffee.

The sign above the double door announces “The Proposal,” the latest Sandra Bullock movie, but there’s no romantic comedy playing on the screen — instead, the lyrics to a Christian song fade in and out to the beat of the music: “We are here because of you, because of you.”

On this Sunday morning, the approximately 200 people on hand aren’t here to watch a movie but to worship God.

Some stand stoically as they sing, others sway back and forth with eyes closed, a few have their hands raised toward the ceiling. At the front of the theater below the screen is a six-piece rock band that continues to sing, “Oh, beautiful sound. The joy of heaven here.”

And it’s here — at Edgewater Multiplex Cinemas — where Joy Christian Fellowship has been meeting for the past two years.

“It’s not a traditional church setting,” said Danny Han, Joy Christian Fellowship’s senior pastor, “but we turn this theater auditorium into a worship place.”

Reclining cushioned seats take the place of pews; the movie screen stands in for stained glass windows. An entertainment venue has turned out to be an unconventional yet conveniently popular religious venue, attracting a new crowd of worshippers deterred by the traditional church setting.

About 200 churches are renting theater space under a one-year contract with National CineMedia, a nationwide multiplex cinema chain. That’s an increase from three churches six years ago.

“The economy has had clearly a positive impact,” said Kurt Hall, the CEO of National CineMedia, about the trend of Sunday theater rentals, “as churches have found it more difficult to raise money to build their own buildings.”

It’s an alternative not only for small start-up churches that cannot afford space but also for large churches seeking to set up multiple locations. The movie theater offers a perfect setting: comfortable seats, state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, central air, ample parking, and prime locations. Joy Christian Fellowship leases two theaters from National Amusements, another multiplex cinemas chain, at $1,000 for 3 1/2 hours each Sunday.

National CineMedia has “Worship Solutions” packages with negotiable rates.

But what may have started as a practical and economical solution has surprisingly become a spiritual solution for boosting church attendance.

Only about four in 10 Americans say they attend religious services at least once a week, according to surveys conducted in recent years by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Rev. Ethan Maple decided that since people weren’t filling the church pews, he would go to them. In March he started The Movie Theater Church.

“We’re reaching out to those who have no religious background and also people who have been hurt by the traditional church setting,” Maple said. His vision is not to build a physical church but to build a church community in a comfortable and unintimidating place. “Everyone’s gone to see a movie, and going to a theater to see worship is not a huge jump.”

Courtney Gonzales said he had been in and out of churches all his life before he came to The Movie Theater Church.

“I really hadn’t had a permanent church home and was always feeling sort of disconnected,” he said, adding he was raised in a Catholic family but did not relate to the rituals. “I never really felt anything was getting through to me.”

As soon as he walked into the movie theater, Gonzales said, he immediately connected. “I just felt comfortable, unlike when I had been at other churches.”

Congregation members eat popcorn and drink soda while worshipping. The offering is collected in popcorn buckets. “Sunday best” is often sneakers, jeans and an untucked T-shirt. Song lyrics and movie clips that illustrate sermon points flash across the large screen. (And during normal theater hours, church ads are included in the movie previews.)

“Lots of pastors give us feedback that they’ve seen an increase in church attendance because they’re in the movie theater,” said Hall from National CineMedia, which has created a team of nine people exclusively focused on church-theater relations.

At The Movie Theater Church, attendance for this year’s Easter service was 268 people, up from 91 last year, Maple said. “The numbers show that the congregation accepts this new church style.”

It’s a style these churches want to keep. According to National CineMedia, 67 percent of their church clients consider the movie theater to be a permanent facility.

“We wouldn’t go any other way,” said Chris Jarrell, a pastor National Community Church in the District of Columbia area. “We see this as a long-term strategy.”

Four of National Community Church’s five locations are movie theaters near subway stops, including the Phoenix Movie Theater on the lower level of Union Station. 

However, Pastor Steve Kelly of Wave Church in Virginia said staying in a movie theater sends a certain message to the community. “The moment you define yourself as ‘We’re just going to rent this facility,’ you’re saying that you’re not necessarily here to stay,” he said.

His congregation has been leasing theater space for five years while they wait for more members and money to build a facility on 31 acres of already-purchased land.

Being a tenant comes with other drawbacks, such as the task of transforming the theater into a sanctuary every Sunday.

Kuen Doo, a member of Joy Christian Fellowship, is in charge of setting up for the 9:30 a.m. service. His morning begins at 7:30 a.m. at a storage location, which houses 14 large black boxes on wheels that contain everything from music stands to speakers, church signs to drum set.

“It takes about an hour to load everything, come to this movie theater, unload, and help set up,” Doo said. At least 17 congregation members are devoted to setting up and breaking down each Sunday.

Joy Christian Fellowship has to clear out before noon, when the matinees begin, and theater No. 4 — along with other movie theaters nationwide — no longer belongs to the church.

Kelly of Wave Church said he’s OK relinquishing the sacred space to horror films and suspense thrillers for the rest of the week.

“It doesn’t matter what movie played in our theater Saturday night,” he said, “because on Sunday morning, it’s our church.”

For University of Southern California football, competition is everything – even competition to be student manager for the team.  Seven years ago, freshman Dave Chung was trying out for that spot.  As he was talking to one of the assistant coaches in the football office at Heritage Hall, head coach Pete Carroll walked into the room.  “He asked me my name then asked if I wanted to really help out the football team,” recalled Chung.  “I said, ‘Hell yeah,’ and he told me to go downstairs and get as many cookies as I could get.”

Chung bolted for the cafeteria.  “I picked up 60 cookies and sprinted back upstairs to the team meeting room where all the coaches were sitting around the table.  It’s silly but I didn’t want to let him down,” said Chung.  “Coach Carroll inspires you to do the stupidest things.”

But his inspiration brings in more than cookies; it brings in big money.  Carroll motivates the team to win games that fill stadiums, alumni to donate and sponsors to provide funds.  “You can’t put a monetary value on his brand, PR and energy,” said Chung in a phone interview.  “There’s no better publicity than Coach, and I don’t know how you can quantify that.”

The university, however, has quantified Carroll’s value – $4.4 million in total compensation.  That makes him the highest paid private university employee in the United States, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s analysis on compensation packages for employees at 600 private colleges and universities.  He earns four times as much as the university’s President Steven Sample and tops other academics and researchers across the country.

“Pete Carroll has done a great marketing job, and that’s what he’s getting rewarded for,” said Henry Schafer, the executive vice president of The Q Scores Company, which measures the familiarity and appeal of brands like celebrities and mainstream personalities.  “Winning is important but creating a positive appeal is part of the whole game,” said Schafer, who, as did all other sources in this story, spoke by phone.

Carroll’s intensely competitive yet laid back and fatherly image isn’t only cultivated on the football field; he rides the airwaves and maintains a presence in the digital world.  In December 2008, 60 Minutes featured Carroll’s philanthropy work to reduce gang violence in inner cities.  That 60 Minutes feature was then posted to his namesake website (www.petecarroll.com).  On the website there is a link to his nonprofit A Better L.A. alongside Pete Carroll Mobile where fans download cell phone ring tones of Carroll’s energizing one-liners.  “Hey, this is Pete Carroll reminding you that USC rips it!  Now pick up the phone!”  He also has a book due out in the spring of 2010 titled, “Win Forever.”

Ben Malcolmson is the USC football team’s director of online media, and his job is to develop Carroll’s web presence.  “We want to bring people back hour after hour,” said Malcolmson, “because the aim of the website it not to be dry but entertaining.”  Malcolmson updates the website daily with “inside scoop” type of blog posts.  He has also pushed Carroll to various social networking websites like Twitter (he has 16,643 followers) and Facebook.

Carroll has become the university’s marketing tool to reach an audience of fans and alumni beyond ticket sales and game days.  Money now comes in from all fronts.  According to USC’s annual filing in compliance with the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, which is a federally mandated report on the athletics program to the Department of Education, in the 2007-2008 academic year the football team generated $28 million in revenue.  That is 37 percent of the entire university’s $76.4 million revenue.  Football completely overshadows the next biggest sport on campus – men’s basketball, which only brought in $4.5 million.

Although Carroll has been the USC football head coach since 2000, Schafer said his company started tracking Carroll’s Q Score only a couple years ago at the request of clients whose names he could not disclose.  Some are presumably the sponsors plastered on the USC football team’s website: Chevrolet, AT&T, StubHub, Lexus, and Muscle Milk.

“He – actually the university – is making a concerted effort to get him out there,” said Schafer.  According to the 2006 Q Score data, 47 percent of sports fans were familiar with Carroll.  Three years later his familiarity increased to 51 percent. “What Carroll gets paid reflects his success as a marketable coach.”

The payoff seems better for a marketable coach rather than a winning coach.  John Gagliardi, the football coach at Saint John’s University in Minnesota, a Division III school, has coached four national championship teams, accumulating 461 wins throughout 60 seasons.  He’s also one of the few active head coaches alongside Penn State Coach Joe Paterno to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Gagliardi didn’t disclose his salary but said he makes a modest amount.  “I earn a nice living – not like Pete Carroll – but I’m happy just turning a living.”  Gagliardi added that that’s because he’s not marketable like Carroll.   “I’m a small successful small town merchant and Pete Carroll is like Macy’s,” said Gagliardi.  “You can’t compare the merchant’s revenue to Macy’s revenue stream.”

Gagliardi has no public relations team or a website, and he isn’t resentful but instead wishful, “If the university wanted to give me a couple million, I wouldn’t object.”

***

However, some professors in academia are objecting to Carroll’s salary.  “Morally and ethically it’s hard to justify a $4.4 million salary,” said Percival Everett, a USC English professor.  “I don’t understand the people who cut the check, and I don’t understand the intricacies of private university fundraising.  It’s sad that the alumni aren’t contributing more of their money to higher education.”

The argument transcends whether Carroll should be paid $4.4 million or whether the values of academia have been set aside for the values in athletics.  “It’s a very strong statement about values,” said Michael Messner, a USC professor of sociology.  “Universities are laying off people, increasing class sizes and pulling back fellowships all in the context of huge bloated salaries of football coaches.”

Under the umbrella of the university, athletics and academics have had a schism – like a married couple that splits up because of money.  “The athletic department has become its own separate semi-autonomous fiefdom that does whatever it wants,” said Messner, which he believes has deeply impacted the university.  “The football program and Coach Carroll are out there on the forefront transforming the university into a purely market economy rather than something aimed at knowledge,” said Messner.  “The traditional goals of education don’t fit with the market mentality.”

The marketplace culture is about generating revenue, and no one does this better than Carroll.    However, Jim Kincaid, a USC professor of English, sees Carroll’s money-making skills as detrimental because universities are becoming indistinguishable from corporations.  “Professors have to think in terms of can I get grants, can I bring the university attention and money.  That pressure has increased.”  Kincaid said he worries that this stress might overshadow the pursuit of knowledge and learning.

John Kiger is a professor of business at Ohio University and also a member of the Drake Group, which lobbies for academic integrity in the college sports industry.  He said he worries about how athletics have commercialized universities.  “When the money’s that big, there is so much pressure to win.  Sometimes that pressure might lead coaches and teams to bend the rules,” said Kiger, referring to student athletes who are allowed to cheat or excused to miss lectures for practice.

As much as Kiger is wary about how the culture of athletics is seeping into academia, he knows it’s an uphill battle.  “Sports has become the opiate of our society,” said Kiger, referring to a famous Carl Marx statement that religion is the opiate of the masses.

The machinery of money is particularly difficult to criticize when it involves big time college football.  “It’s difficult to point out because it’s so popular and entrenched in society,” said Kincaid about USC football.  “You can’t mess with it.”

***

David Silvers believes it’s best not to mess with the athletic machine. “It would lead to the death of the universities,” said Silvers about separating the marketplace from academia.  He is a dermatologist and clinical professor at Columbia University, which makes him the second highest paid private university employee ($4.3 million) just behind Carroll’s salary.

“A university has to exist in the real world, and they can only exist in the real world if they can financially exist,” said Silvers.  “One way of financially existing is to identify and promote niche areas that bring in a tremendous amount of revenue – like football and Carroll.”  Silvers, who has specialized in dermatology for more than 35 years, found his niche in a society that values exterior appearances, leading research groups that study skin cancer and other skin diseases.  “Columbia recognizes the value that I’ve brought to the university and continue to bring to the university,” said Silvers.  “They feel it’s in their best interest that I remain at the university.”  His $4.3 million salary is one reason that keeps him there.

Like Silvers’ salary, Carroll’s doesn’t compare with everything he brings to USC.  According to USC’s annual filing in accordance with the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, all 20 sports teams ended the 2007-2008 academic year in the red.  Only football made a net profit – $7.6 million.  The USC athletic department declined to comment on how the football team distributes its profits.

Silvers said he doesn’t apologize for his second place income.  “I can look myself in the mirror and know that I am making a tremendous contribution to a portion of my university.”  He may make close to Carroll’s salary but he doesn’t have what Kincaid calls star power.  “Coach Carroll’s luminosity draws recruits, new students and money,” said the USC English professor.  “There is an awed sense of wow.”