Michael Geilenfeld sued an activist over sexual abuse allegations:
Federal court rules against Hearts with Haiti and orphanage founder
May 01, 2017
A federal appeals court has ruled against a Raleigh-based charity and the founder of an orphanage in Haiti who together had won a defamation lawsuit in New England, only to see that ruling reversed on appeal.
Hearts with Haiti and Michael Geilenfeld won a $14.5 million verdict in 2015 against Paul Kendrick of Maine.
Kendrick began an internet campaign in 2011 accusing Geilenfeld of sexually abusing children in his care at facilities operated by his organization, St. Joseph Family. Hearts with Haiti acts as the U.S. financial wing of St. Joseph Family, collecting donations on behalf of the organization.
But last summer, a federal judge ruled that Geilenfeld lacked grounds to sue in the United States because he wasn’t living in the country when he filed the lawsuit. A federal appeals court in Boston upheld that decision last week, reaffirming the dismissal of the defamation lawsuit and the order that Kendrick pay damages.
Alan Stone, the president of the Hearts with Haiti board of directors, called the court’s decision disappointing, but says it doesn’t change the jury’s decision that Kendrick defamed the charity and Geilenfeld.
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crossposting my comment from the v/GreatAwakening submission:
Michael Geilenfeld sued an activist over sexual abuse allegations:
Federal court rules against Hearts with Haiti and orphanage founder
May 01, 2017
A federal appeals court has ruled against a Raleigh-based charity and the founder of an orphanage in Haiti who together had won a defamation lawsuit in New England, only to see that ruling reversed on appeal.
Hearts with Haiti and Michael Geilenfeld won a $14.5 million verdict in 2015 against Paul Kendrick of Maine.
Kendrick began an internet campaign in 2011 accusing Geilenfeld of sexually abusing children in his care at facilities operated by his organization, St. Joseph Family. Hearts with Haiti acts as the U.S. financial wing of St. Joseph Family, collecting donations on behalf of the organization.
But last summer, a federal judge ruled that Geilenfeld lacked grounds to sue in the United States because he wasn’t living in the country when he filed the lawsuit. A federal appeals court in Boston upheld that decision last week, reaffirming the dismissal of the defamation lawsuit and the order that Kendrick pay damages.
Alan Stone, the president of the Hearts with Haiti board of directors, called the court’s decision disappointing, but says it doesn’t change the jury’s decision that Kendrick defamed the charity and Geilenfeld.
https:// www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article147914464.html
http://archive.fo/bxEDh