Remaining 2 American Missionaries to Be Freed From Haiti Jail

Published January 08, 2015

Two American missionaries who remained jailed in Haiti on child trafficking charges will be released this week, a Haitian judge told Reuters on Tuesday.

Laura Silsby and Charis Coulter were held for additional questioning after their fellow missionaries were freed last week.

On Tuesday, Judge Bernard Sainvil said he would release them due to lack of "criminal grounds," Reuters reported.

The group denied the child trafficking accusations, arguing the trip was a do-it-youself "rescue mission" for young victims of the massive Jan. 12 earthquake.

The 10 missionaries were charged with kidnapping for trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without Haitian adoption certificates. The missionaries planned to take the children to a temporary orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

Silsby originally said the children were orphans or had been abandoned. But The Associated Press determined that at least 20 were handed over willingly by their parents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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