Haitian Center of Evansville responds to judge’s ruling against Ind. Attorney General

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - A sigh of relief from the people at the Haitian Center of Evansville...

A judge from the Vanderburgh County Court, denying the Attorney General the opportunity to investigate them, as well as Berry Global, for labor trafficking and unlawful activity.

The petition sought “CIDs” or “civil investigative demands,” for which Judge Pigman has ruled the Attorney General does not have the authority to ask for.

According to court documents, the judge found no reasonable cause against the two parties.

[Click here to see the full ruling]

Haitian Center Executive director, Gelina Mascoe, says she is glad it’s over.

“We just feel a sense of relief, because nobody opens a non-profit just so they can go through these things,” Mascoe stated. “I never thought that we were gonna be here but I am grateful for the fact that the judge and the courts saw that we were not doing anything nefarious.”

The Haitian Center is an that organization provides resources to the Haitian population of Evansville and the rest of the Tri-State.

Officials with the Haitian Center say even though they did nothing wrong, and were not even accused of anything, they’re reputation has taken a hit.

“People just form an opinion, and they didn’t understand what was going on, and I understand,” Mascoe stated. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation out there, which caused people to take a step back from our center or supporting it.”

14 News also tried reaching out to Amcor, Berry Global’s parent company, about the situation, but got no response.

They were another company involved in the lawsuit.

We also reached out to the Attorney General’s office, and they gave us this statement:

“We’re reviewing the Court’s order, evaluating our options, and are committed to pursuing vigorously our investigations of possible incidents of labor trafficking in Indiana.”

As for the Haitian Center, they say their biggest concern now, is giving back to the community.

“The Haitian center is not just specifically for the Haitian community, it is an Evansville community, and we just want to give people a sense of belonging, and that’s what we do,” Mascoe stated.