WASHINGTON (AP) — A man alleged to be the founder and leader of a Haitian gang was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison for orchestrating the kidnapping of 17 people, including five children, who were on a missionary trip to the Caribbean country.

Joly Germine declined to say anything before U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., sentenced him.

“No remorse has been shown by Mr. Germine. No acceptance of responsibility,” the judge said.

Some of the kidnapping victims chose to speak in court, telling Germine that they forgive him for his role in their ordeal.

Ray Noecker, whose wife, Cheryl, and five children were held hostage, said it was a “life-changing experience" for their family. He turned to Germine and told him that he hopes he finds “God's peace.”

“True freedom is not found outside of prison walls. True freedom is found inside your own heart,” Noecker said.

The victims — 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian citizen — were kidnapped by gang members near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Oct. 16, 2021. Most of them were held at gunpoint for 62 days before they escaped.

Prosecutors also sought a life sentence. They said Germine, now 33, led the “400 Mawozo” gang from a prison in Haiti.

“This horrific crime was driven by defendant Germine’s own self-interest; he wanted to secure his release from prison in exchange for the hostages,” prosecutors wrote.

Germine denies that he was a leader of the gang, according to his attorneys. They said he became involved in politics after allowing farmers to grow crops on his land.

“Mr. Germine genuinely tried to help his countrymen, especially those that did not have much. The Haitian government did not provide services and resources to the poor like we have in this country, and Mr. Germine tried to fill the gap,” his lawyers wrote.

The Christian missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when kidnappers forced their bus to stop. One of the kidnapped children was eight months old.

The gang took credit for the kidnappings on social media and initially demanded a ransom of $17 million, or $1 million for each victim. But the hostage takers later contacted a representative of the missionaries and asked for Germine's release from prison.

All of the hostages were released or escaped. Germine remained in prison but was transferred to the U.S. to face charges in a May 2022 indictment. After a trial earlier this year, a jury convicted him of charges including conspiracy to commit hostage taking.

Germine was separately convicted of participating in a plot to smuggle semiautomatic firearms from the U.S. to Haiti for gang members' use. For that case, Bates sentenced him last year to 35 years in prison.