Comment on Haitian orphanage operator accusing Freeport man of defamation

The attorney for an Iowa man who has sued Paul Kendrick of Freeport for defamation said Tuesday that Kendrick launched a “campaign of vicious, merciless and unrelenting attacks” against his client based on discredited information. Peter DeTroy, attorney for Michael Geilenfeld, told jurors in U.S. District Court during opening statements that Kendrick’s claims that Geilenfeld sexually abused boys at an orphanage in Haiti were unfounded. Geilenfeld, his attorney acknowledged, has been dealing with allegations of abuse dating back to the 1980s but has been exonerated numerous times. DeTroy said Kendrick didn’t care whether the allegations were true. “His goal was to destroy this man,” the attorney said. Kendrick’s attorney, David Walker, countered in his opening statement that sexual abuse allegations involving Geilenfeld have swirled in Haiti and beyond for years.