MAINE
Yahoo! News
By DAVID SHARP
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal defamation lawsuit may become the only venue for young men from Haiti to air abuse allegations in open court following the dismissal of a case against the orphanage founder accused of assaulting them when they were boys in Port-au-Prince, according to the target of the defamation lawsuit.
Lawyers involved in the defamation case say it will go forward now that Michael Geilenfeld has been released from custody and charges against him have been dismissed.
Paul Kendrick, the defendant in the defamation lawsuit, said he welcomes the trial in U.S. District Court in Maine where the men can testify openly about what Geilenfeld allegedly did to them. The men didn’t get to testify before the judge who dismissed the criminal case against Geilenfeld in Haiti.
“I want the world to hear their testimony. This man did disgusting and despicable things to them when they were children. And they will be able to tell their stories here in a U.S. courtroom,” Kendrick said.
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