U.S. Baptist Convicted in Haiti, but Free To Go

(AP)  The last of 10 Americans detained while trying to take 33 children out of Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake was released Monday after a judge convicted her and sentenced her to the time she had already served in jail.

Laura Silsby, the organizer of the ill-fated effort to take the children to an orphanage being set up in the Dominican Republic, returned to her jail cell briefly to retrieve belongings before quickly heading to the Port-au-Prince airport.

"I'm praising God," Silsby told The Associated Press as she waited for a flight out of Haiti. She declined further questions.

The Idaho businesswoman had been in custody since Jan. 29. She was originally charged with kidnapping and criminal association. Those charges were dropped and she was convicted of arranging illegal travel under a 1980 statute restricting movement out of Haiti signed by then-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

Prosecutor Jean-Serge Joseph said she was convicted and sentenced to the 3 months and 8 days she has spent behind bars. Earlier, the prosecution had recommended a six-month sentence and she faced a maximum of three years on the charge.

"She is free," Joseph said.

The 40-year-old Silsby told the court earlier she thought the children were orphans whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake. But she lacked the proper papers to remove them from the country at a time when the government was restricting adoptions to prevent child trafficking in the chaos that followed the earthquake.

An AP investigation later revealed all the children had at least one living parent, who had turned their children over to the group in hopes of securing better lives for them.

[babooph]

Do the " Christians" in Haiti run the same tax scam as they do in Asia-give a check to the church[tax write off] then the "mission" pays their personal costs as the live over seas...they will NEVER be brought to justice for this ,as they also donate & vote for a powerful political party in the States...

[theywerestrongandgood]

Right, everyone knows that Haiti is an absolute paradise right now.

[tsigili]

Her passport should be revoked, and she should not be allowed to travel abroad, again.

[jankebenzone]

by mollydtt May 18, 2010 12:08 PM EDT
She KNEW the kids weren't orphans, and she KNEW she wasn't supposed to take them across the border.
I think that qualifies as "lying".
There are so many other ways they could have helped that were legal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Such as? What's so illegal about helping needy children out of a situation where the parents/country can,t feed or care for it,s children if even temporarily till things get better ? There was/is no food, drinking water, or shelter after the quake and was in short supply
before the quake. You obviously can.t think but your mouth makes up for the shortfall. Typical christian basher.

[jankebenzone]

by ianlou May 18, 2010 6:47 AM EDT

I predict that this convict will be photographed with Sarah Palin within weeks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ I predict your idiocy has made you biased and prejudiced against christians a long time ago. What have you done to help the starving, homeless and abandoned haitian children?

[mollydtt]

She KNEW the kids weren't orphans, and she KNEW she wasn't supposed to take them across the border.
I think that qualifies as "lying".
There are so many other ways they could have helped that were legal.

[ianlou]

Now that she was found Guilt and freed after time served, it's time for American Justice!

Which consists of touring the Bimbo TV Talk Show Circuit where she can Make big bucks and gain Teabagger support. Next a book deal and a run for office of some sort.

I predict that this convict will be photographed with Sarah Palin within weeks.

[Penswoman]

Another thing to be considered is that Laura Silsby tried to kidnap the Haitian adopted children of an American couple. She called them offering to obtain the children and actually went to the orphanage in Haiti. Fortunately, the children's father had already taken them away. We know from early in the saga that the Department of Homeland Security investigated that episode. They, and the FBI, also looked into the Jorge Puello connection to Silsby and the rest of The Idaho 10. Recall that Puello, a convicted trafficker then on the lam, acted as their 'legal advisor,' passing himself off as a lawyer. It is possible Silsby will face related charges in the United States.

[jankebenzone]

by formrusmcsgt May 17, 2010 10:44 PM EDT

Wrong on both counts.

I'm still here and the leader was convicted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Only liars will deny the truth even when the proof stares right back at them. Like I said, not one of them was convicted of kidnapping. Read the story . Did you enjoy you're supper tonight? Did you think about all those abandoned hungary kids which could have had nice homes to live in with ample care and food if it were'nt for the likes of you? Of course not, move in shoot em up, kill em, forget em and on to the next victims.
Thats not what men of honour do, only cowards,deserters, and low life stop so low. Go ahead all of you, keep lying and be proud of it, at least these people tryed to help while you sat on your hinnies pointing fingers. Some live by ethics and morals, some live only for themselves!


"The Idaho businesswoman had been in custody since Jan. 29. She was originally charged with kidnapping and criminal association. Those charges were dropped and she was convicted of arranging illegal travel under a 1980 statute restricting movement out of Haiti signed by then-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. "

[talltimber41]

Praising God for......? Look, she went there looking to subvert the system and got caught. She served several months and is free. What did God have to do with her bad behavior?

[formrusmcsgt]

No more than all the lawsuits she's faced for unpaid wages...something like a dozen or so.

Any flake can be a dogma drone...it's "self-proclaimed", so what's to stop them?

A thief can claim to be "God-fearing" like the minstrels they just arrested for stealing instruments from churches where they played.

Pedophiles can be "God-fearing" too, only a bazillion examples of that...

[brianbwb2011]

A guilty verdict, followed by mercy shown by the court, and the country to a proven child trafficker.

The most convenient outcome for all parties.

At least Silsby did not get away scot-free with her crime, but the Haitians get to show a compassion intent to the world, while saving the money it would have cost for incarceration, and still upholding the law of their land.

[formrusmcsgt]

Good ananlysis, brian.

There's also the factor of drawing attention to Haitian jail conditions as long as she a prisoner as well....