US senators seek action on child abuse allegations in Haiti

MIAMI (AP) — The State Department is being urged to pressure the Haitian government into closing an orphanage where several children being adopted by U.S. families have been victims of alleged sexual abuse.

A letter signed by 10 U.S. senators asks the State Department to expedite adoptions for parents working to get children from there to the U.S.

The letter also says "multiple" children tested positive for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia and reported being victims of abuse at the orphanage outside Port-au-Prince.

Orphanage director Eveline Louis-Jacques denied Friday that any abuse occurred at the Foyer Notre Dama de la Nativitie. An official with the Haitian social welfare agency said an investigation remains open.

The State Department and U.S. Embassy in Haiti had no immediate comment.