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Missionary defends actions in Haiti

| August 21, 2010 9:00 PM

BOISE (AP) - The leader of an American group detained while trying to take 33 children out of Haiti after the January earthquake defended her actions upon her release, saying she was "wrongly accused and held without just cause."

Laura Silsby was freed in May after being convicted for arranging illegal travel and sentenced to time already served in jail. Another set of legal woes awaited her at home in Idaho.

Silsby faced disgruntled former employees from her defunct Internet business and while she sat in a Haitian jail, her ex-husband sought sole custody of their 5-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.

Silsby responded in an affidavit filed in Idaho's 4th District Court a week after her return, touting her credentials as a parent and downplaying her conviction in Haiti.

The custody issues were part of a divorce case scheduled to go to trial Friday, but a court clerk confirmed the proceedings were canceled after both sides came to an agreement.