HWH Board Members must be held accountable in a civil court of law for their gross negligence and failure to protect children in Haiti.

August 31, 2011

COMMENTARY

Rob Patterson of New Bern, NC is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Hearts with Haiti, the major fundraising arm for the St. Joseph's Homes in Port au Prince, Haiti.

In recent weeks, Patterson met face to face with a 38 year old Haitian man who was sexually abused, beginning when he was 10 years old, by Michael Geilenfeld, Executive Director of the above mentioned St. Joseph's Homes.

In the aftermath of the meeting with the abuse victim, Patterson voted, along with the majority of the Hearts with Haiti board members, not to contact U.S. law enforcement investigators about the allegations of child sex abuse being brought against Geilenfeld.

In other words, the HWH board members made a conscious decision to ignore and do nothing about credible allegations of child sex abuse being brought against Geilenfeld.

Which begs the question: What kind of people are these board members who would so blatantly ignore the safety and well being of innocent and vulnerable children in impoverished Haiti that they would not even call for an investigation?

Neither Geilenfeld, himself, who is also a member of the HWH board of Directors, nor Rev. Patrick Hamrick of Michigan who is Chairperson of the HWH board, will respond to one simple question: "How many times in his lifetime has Michael Geilenfeld been accused of child sex abuse."

Board members, Rob Patterson, Rev. Patrick Hamrick, Paul D'Oliveira (Concord, MA), Doug Gill (Raleigh, NC), Jarret McGlaughlin (Prairie Village, KS), Cheryl Proctor (Raleigh, NC), Jerry Slaymaker (Cary, NC), Amy Veatch (Raleigh, NC), Gwen Whiteman (Raleigh, NC) and Shelley Wiley (Enon, OH) are neglectingtheir fiduciary (and moral) responsibility to protect children at the St. Joseph's Homes.

These HWH board members must beheld accountable in a civil court of law for their gross negligence and failure to protect children.

They are the most despicable of all human beings. They refuse to investigate crimes against children, yet they call the victims liars and go to great lengths to defend the child molester.

These board members are truly horrible people.

Paul Kendrick
Freeport, ME
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"Ne doutez jamais qu'un petit nombre de citoyens volontaires et réfléchis peut changer le monde. En fait, cela se passe toujours ainsi" Margaret Mead (1901-1978)