<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18876">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff><FONT size=2>
<DIV id=header_main_wrap>
<DIV style="MARGIN-TOP: 0pt" id=header_main></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>
<P>What was to be the fate of children kidnapped by Idaho
Baptists?</P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 640px" class=container>
<DIV id=content>
<DIV id=story>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 28px; OVERFLOW: hidden"><A class=nolht
href="http://www.spokesman.com/"><IMG style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 20px"
src="http://media.spokesman.com/img/bits/logo-sr.png"></A>
<H5 style="FLOAT: right" class=details>February 14, 2010</H5></DIV>
<DIV class=clear></DIV>
<H1>Baptists’ adviser under scrutiny</H1>
<H5 class=subhead>Child trafficking in El Salvador alleged</H5>
<DIV class="details nested grid-8"><SPAN>Patricia Mazzei And Gerardo
Reyes<BR>McClatchy </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=clear> </DIV>
<DIV class="tag-details details-top"></DIV>
<DIV id=story-body>
<DIV class="grid-3 story-embed"><IMG class=story_photo
src="http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2010/02/14/puello0214_02-14-2010_M4I181A_t210.jpg?74a72ef94756bccc16ea1c78066b52f96b62dbc7">
<P class=caption>Torres Puello</P></DIV>
<P>SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The man providing legal advice to
American church workers charged with trying to take children out of Haiti did
jail time in the United States years before emerging as the key suspect in a
child prostitution ring in El Salvador, according records
and interviews.</P>
<P>The mother and stepfather of Jorge Anibal Torres Puello told the Miami Herald
in an extensive interview Saturday the fugitive wanted by Salvadoran police was
their son, who has been advising the church volunteers in the unfolding
legal drama.</P>
<P>“That’s him,” a teary Ana Puello said from her modest home in the outskirts
of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. “But those things they say about him, I
doubt they’re true. … He would never hurt a child.”</P>
<P>Though his wife was convicted in the case, Torres Puello left the country –
wanted by Salvadoran police – before ending up in Haiti.</P>
<P>A self-styled lawyer with no law degree, Torres Puello has had other brushes
with the law, including a charge in Miami in 1999 for possessing fake documents,
records show. His bond was later revoked and a warrant was issued for
his arrest.</P>
<P>The revelations represent another twist in the drama surrounding the church
workers from Idaho, who have been jailed for trying to take 33 children from
Haiti without legal permission after the earthquake ripped through
Port-au-Prince on January 12.</P>
<P>It’s unclear how the 32-year-old Torres Puello became involved with the
Central Valley Baptist Church, or when he met the group’s controversial leader,
Laura Silsby.</P>
<P>Torres Puello could not be reached Saturday for comment.</P>
<P>For the past 10 days, Torres Puello has been a visible figure in the church
case, granting interviews with reporters about his role as legal adviser to
the group.</P>
<P>But little was known about his background until Friday, when Salvadoran
police announced an investigation into whether Torres Puello was the same
suspect who led the notorious trafficking ring.</P>
<P>Using photographs and fingerprints, police say they are close to confirming
Torres Puello is the same suspect wanted since last year for leading a large
network that recruited children for prostitution in Nicaragua, the Dominican
Republic and
El Salvador.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>