Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290135
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STILLWATER, MINN. LENGTH: Medium
EX-PRIEST GETS 6-MONTH TERM FOR MOLESTING BABY SITTER
A former priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of children in three states was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail and 10 years' probation for molesting his children's baby sitter.James Porter, 57, was convicted last month of six counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for fondling the teen-ager on a living room couch in 1987.
Judge Kenneth Maas said he departed from state sentencing guidelines, which recommended only 2 1/2 years' probation, because Porter showed "no sign of remorse, only denial."
The former Roman Catholic priest was immediately taken to the Washington County Jail to begin serving his sentence.
"I'm glad that he's getting some time," said Frank Fitzpatrick of Cranston, R.I., a former altar boy who made the first public allegations against Porter and is spokesman for a group of accusers.
Prosecutors also said they were satisfied with the sentence.
The attorney for Porter said he advised his client against showing emotion at the sentencing hearing.
"If it's anyone's fault, it's our fault," attorney Paul Lukas said. "You tell them not to show their reaction in the courtroom."
The former baby sitter, now 21, and members of her family were in the courtroom.
"There is a man in this room today with a very sick disease called pedophilia," she told the judge. "His actions were unjust and immoral, as I was only a child and he, a man older than my own father."
Porter declined to make a statement in court Thursday and didn't testify during the trial.
The defense had asked for only probation. Prosecutors had asked that Porter be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in state prison, saying he was not amenable to treatment and had violated a position of trust.
Porter could receive up to 56 months in state prison if his probation is revoked. Conditions of the probation include no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with minors other than his family, unless in a public setting.
He could also get six more months in jail if he fails a treatment program.
Porter, who left the priesthood in 1974 and lives with his family in the St. Paul suburb of Oakdale, has been indicted in Massachusetts on 46 counts of molesting children in the 1960s.