Tape Shows Haiti Police Questioning Silsby

(CBS)  Ten Americans charged with the abduction of 33 Haitian children remain behind bars Monday morning in Haiti.

Now, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports, the volunteers from a Baptist church in Idaho are not getting along and are speaking out against their leader, Laura Silsby.

On a tape of the arrest of the Americans 10 days ago acquired by CBS News, the nine other Americans in the group - most from two Baptist churches in Idaho - are seen holding the Haitian children, some just infants.

The group is shown being questioned in a Haitian police station after being sent back from the Dominican border, which they tried to cross, allegedly with improper documentation for the children.

Back in Port-au-Prince, Laura Silsby, the leader of the 10 Baptists from the United States, is being lectured by a Haitian official: "We understand all the good feelings you could have, all the good intentions, but there's a way to do it," a man tells Silsby.

While the interrogation was being conducted, outside in the hallway, many of the 33 Haitian children found in the missionaries' custody were crying for their mothers - crying to go home.

There are light moments on the video (one woman says to two of the children, "Smile and wave at the camera"), but most of it is intense and serious.

The police take the Americans' passports, and while nine Americans and the children look on, police interrogate a shaken Silsby.

She told them what she has been saying ever since: "Most of these children's parents died in the earthquake just a few days ago."

When she was asked if she had a legal paper and didn't answer, the interrogator grew irritated and demanded an answer.

"We simply wanted to help these children," Silsby said. "We did not understand all your rules."

Today The New York Times reports that eight members of the group of Americans signed a note they passed to an NBC News producer stating they had been misled by Silsby and were afraid. "We believe lying," the note read.

Each missionary has been charged with kidnapping and criminal association, and if convicted face sentences of up to 24 years in prison.

Who is Laura Silsby?
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[solarovenlady]

Laura Silsby may have wanted to help the Haitian children but she also needed them. She was planning on using the poor ?orphan? children to obtain world wide donations for her lavish beach front resort. In other words Laura needed a meal ticket.
At first I felt like many of you who would like to see these people prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Haitian law. After doing some research on the conditions of Haitian prisons I have reconsidered. I don?t believe any human being should be locked up in a Haitian prison and I don?t believe any of them would survive for very long.
That being said, Laura has been exposed to her church and to the world as a liar. She has lost her home, her business is in shambles, she has lawsuits against her in the US, she will most likely never be able to get credit again, and I doubt if she will be able to pull off another scam any time soon. It would be nice if the US could list Laura and Charisa Coulter (co-founder) as felons but that probably can?t happen.
As for the rest of them I would hope they would get off with a misdemeanor and time served. They weren?t completely innocent because they knew the police pulled the first group of 40 children off the bus for a reason. They also lied to the parents of the children. What they didn?t realize is what a con artist in sheep?s clothing Laura Silsby is. I think they do now!
Here is a link to their plans: http://www.esbctwinfalls.com/clientimages/24453/pdffiles/haiti/nlcrhaitianorphanrescuemission.pdf Notice the address of this PDF file is written from the other Idaho Baptist Church in Twin Falls. This is where Pastor Paul Thompson, his wife and son attend. The three of them are part of the detained group and if you check page 3 of this document, they had to be aware of plans for an adoption agency in the Dominican Republic.
90% of Haitians are of the Catholic faith which Evangelicals don?t recognize as ?good Christian families?. Therefore the children would not have been permitted to be adopted by families of there own faith.

[solarovenlady]

Laura Silsby may have wanted to help the Haitian children but she also needed them. She was planning on using the poor ?orphan? children to obtain world wide donations for her lavish beach front resort. In other words Laura needed a meal ticket.
At first I felt like many of you who would like to see these people prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Haitian law. After doing some research on the conditions of Haitian prisons I have reconsidered. I don?t believe any human being should be locked up in a Haitian prison and I don?t believe any of them would survive for very long.
That being said, Laura has been exposed to her church and to the world as a liar. She has lost her home, her business is in shambles, she has lawsuits against her in the US, she will most likely never be able to get credit again, and I doubt if she will be able to pull off another scam any time soon. It would be nice if the US could list Laura and Charisa Coulter (co-founder) as felons but that probably can?t happen.
As for the rest of them I would hope they would get off with a misdemeanor and time served. They weren?t completely innocent because they knew the police pulled the first group of 40 children off the bus for a reason. They also lied to the parents of the children. What they didn?t realize is what a con artist in sheep?s clothing Laura Silsby is. I think they do now!
Here is a link to their plans: http://www.esbctwinfalls.com/clientimages/24453/pdffiles/haiti/nlcrhaitianorphanrescuemission.pdf Notice the address of this PDF file is written from the other Idaho Baptist Church in Twin Falls. This is where Pastor Paul Thompson, his wife and son attend. The three of them are part of the detained group and if you check page 3 of this document, they had to be aware of plans for an adoption agency in the Dominican Republic.
90% of Haitians are of the Catholic faith which Evangelicals don?t recognize as ?good Christian families?. Therefore the children would not have been permitted to be adopted by families of there own faith.

[anchovy77]

I could believe that Laura did lie to the group of 9 missionaries..She was only in it for herself..I think the 9 are innocent in this, except for Laura Silsby. I think they should freakin release the 9 missionaries and keep Laura Silsby in jail. I'm pretty sure she's the one to blame the most! I don't think it's fair for the 9 people to be in jail for Laura's lies. I would be so pissed off at Laura!

[cidaia]

I think they knew exactly they were doing, and intended to make a bundle of money selling those children for big bucks.

If you were a trafficker, would you call yourself a trafficker, or would you call yourself a Baptist? Think about it.

[jankebenzone]

by cidaia You think? I don't think so , the comments you made are blatantly short of viable intelligence.

[Hosheen]

As usual, the religious reich has no problem with lying and breaking the law to accomplish their nefarious schemes. This woman should spend the rest of her life in a Haitian prison and maybe learn a little humility and respect for the rights of others.

It's funny how the "faithful" are now abandoning her in an attempt to save their own skins. So much for the strength of their "beliefs". (spelled delusions)

This is a perfect example of the evils of religion. Mankind will never truly be free until the black mantle of religion is lifted by the light of reason, fact, and logic.

[republicanblack]

This is proof of the hard times in America or is it the pursuit of happiness -- think about a person willing to risk it all to try make a dollar in this economy, well at least that is what this article I read said -- she almost had no choice, check it out

http://******/cashkids

[chris_bray]

I said it once and I'll say it again. Silsby is a con artist and a fraud. She doesn't even have the decency to pay her outstanding debt, and yet she can fly to Haiti and try to snatch children. How ridiculous for her to say "she didn't understand" their rules. She didn't care about Haiti's "rules" or any other rules. She went there to take advanatge of a situation and circumvent their rules, which are "laws", not rules. Let the 8 go, throw the rest in a prison if you can find one still standing.