Lawyer in Defamation Case Says Client Was Hero in Haiti

Winston-Salem Journal
July 7, 2015

http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region_ap/lawyer-in-defamation-case-says-client-was-hero-in-haiti/article_b7b1d724-28f4-5858-94a1-e49f42a9b9af.html

A lawyer in a Maine defamation case says his client was a hero for children in Haiti who was devastated by a Maine activist's unsubstantiated claims of sex abuse.

Both sides presented opening statements Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld and Raleigh, North Carolina-based Hearts with Haiti. Attorney Peter DeTroy says Paul Kendrick made reckless allegations that hurt fundraising and damaged reputations.

Kendrick's attorney told the jury he's looking forward to the alleged victims getting to tell their story in court.

DeTroy blames Kendrick for Geilenfeld's arrest last fall in Haiti. A judge cleared Geilenfeld of any crime during a brief trial, but Haiti's justice minister has said the verdict was improperly reached and there will be additional proceedings.