Craig Alden arrived in Brazil in 1991 and then upon seeing the abject poverty, established an orphanage for children in its rural heartland that same year. Alden has a Brazilian wife and 2 children with her. Shortly after establishing his orphanage "Warboys", Alden was confronted by a local judge and prosecuter. They wanted to use the orphanage for a drug user and child prostitution holding center. Alden refused saying that this would place the orphans at risk. In 2002, local authorities from the same town as the orphanage placed charges of child sexual abuse against Alden. Three former orphans, who later retracted their claims, had accused Alden of sexually abusing them. Alden was subsequently arrested and placed in jail, and with an inadequate and incompetent defense, was declared guilty of the charges on the prosecution's case alone. The local prosecuters deliberately ignored the fact that the three orphans who had originally placed the charges against Alden, had later withdrawn their claims of sexual abuse. In early November of 2005, Alden was sentenced to 48 years in jail for child abuse. This sentence was quickly reduced to 11 years for reasons unexplained. Alden went on a hunger strike after learning of his sentence. His condition is still uncertain. There is a special website dedicated to the release of this falsely convicted Englishman. For updated information, you can go to www.freecraigalden.com To do your part and help this man to freedom, you may reprint this article with the author's permission as long as you include the author’s bio with it. Ronald Nordquist is an American and a language expert living in Brazil, operating a small business together with his Brazilian wife. They have a 2 year old son. He has an MBA from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and a web site at http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/bttu3570/ He wants to return to the USA.
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