PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—In a closed courtroom in one of the few government buildings still standing here, Laura Silsby and nine other American missionaries were charged Thursday with abducting children from this earthquake-ravaged capital.
Their lawyer, Edwin F. Coq Jr., said they had been charged with child abduction and criminal association and not the more-serious charges of kidnapping and child trafficking in connection with trying to take 33 children into the neighboring Dominican Republic. The charges could carry sentences of up to nine years and up to three years, respectively, Mr. Coq said.
For Ms. Silsby it was the latest in a series of wrong turns on a road her parents and others who know her in Idaho say was paved with the best intentions. Yet in her long-stated desire to help orphans, she has left a trail of business and personal debts, as well as unheeded warnings about the intricacies of taking children out of Haiti.
"Laura was the only one who had knowledge of what was going on," Mr. Coq said. "The rest said only that they love Haiti. That is why they came to Haiti."
Much about Ms. Silsby, who started and ran an online personal-shopping service, remains a mystery, including the current state of her business and personal finances—her house was foreclosed and she was sued by creditors—and whether she believed she was following Haitian law as she gathered children.
Personal Shopper, whose Web site personalshopper.com, promises to guide shoppers to products that fit their needs, won Ms. Silsby a 2006 award as International Businesswoman of the Year from eWomen Network, a Texas-based international businesswomen's group. By last year it also was facing suits.
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carmencita ago
Nothing to see here folks. Having Clinton Connections and her lawyer involved in a human trafficking ring means nothing. As usual we are trying to make mountain out of a mole hill. That's what I was told when I was trying to red pill someone last year. We are still trying to explain this to people. What will it take. So frustrating.
Are_we__sure ago
Silsby had no Clinton connections at all. No one in DC knew who she was before she got arrested.
Jorge Puello was not her lawyer. He was a conman working an angle. He interjected himself into the proceedings by contacting the families in Idaho and presenting himself as a lawyer which he was not. He was hired by the family members before he ever spoke to the Americans detained in a jail in Haiti.
The family members had originally gone with a Haitian lawyer, Edwin Coq, but then became convinced he was was charging too much, almost extorting them, an idea that Puello encouraged.
Puello was not a lawyer whatsoever.
Fateswebb ago
Had no connections? Lol only emails proving connections and Clinton's literally went to rescue her from jail then brought her back and set her up at alert sense... If she didn't have connection why the fuck would they have worried about saving her ass?
Are_we_sure ago
This is an email from August, 2010. It doesn't support your claim at all. Did you mean another document?
You've been lied to there are absolutely no emails showing this. She went to trial in Haiti and was freed by a Hatian Court and there's nothing whatsoever connecting the Clintons to Alert Sense which is a private company.
They were not. One of the most important missions of the US State Department is consular services for American's overseas, this includes Americans arrested overseas.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/arrest-detention.html
The people who pushed this myth about Clinton and Silsby were hoping that you didn't understand about Consular Services.
Here's the first email about Silsby's group in the Clinton emails. Scroll to the bottom of the thread to see it. They didn't even know the names of the 10 Baptists at this point, they referred to them as AMCITS which is state department lingo for American Citizens. The State Department was involved because they were American citizens arrested overseas.
From: Haiti TaskForce1I-(CA) Consular Affairs Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 4:05 PM To: [email protected]' Cc: TaskForce-1; Bernier-Toth, Michelle; PortauPrinceControlRoom; Cantrell, Paul M; xHaiti File Mail Subject: 10 AmCits arrested with 33 orphans Consular Affairs was notified by the Embassy duty officer in Santo Domingo of the arrest of 10 Amcits from Idaho by Haitian police. They were attempting to take 33 'orphans' to Santo Domingo for the stated purpose of establishing an orphanage to care for the children. The Americans are in the custody of the Haitian police. We have no information about the whereabouts of the 33 orphans.