Religion + Crime / +quot;Satanic Conspiracy+quot; Series #009 L. A. Times, 24/Sep/92, AP W

Religion & Crime / "Satanic Conspiracy" Series #009
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                L. A. Times, 24/Sep/92, AP Wire Service

NEW BEDFORD, Mass -- A former Roman Catholic priest pleaded not guilty
Wednesday to molesting 32 children -- some allegedly in church and after
invoking God's name as a threat.

As a bail hearing for James R. Porter, a prosecutor also disclosed that
the former clergyman is wanted in his home state of Minnesota on sexual
misconduct charges involving his children's 15-year-old baby-sitter.

Porter, 57, who is married and has four children, faces 46 criminal
charges. He was released after posting $20,000 bail and was given 48
hours to return to Minnesota.

In a statement this summer, Porter admitted that he had molested "a
number of children" during the 1960s while he was a priest, but said
he stopped after leaving the priesthood in the early 1970s.

Porter, of Oakdale, Minn., also is charged in lawsuits in Minnesota and
New Mexico with abusing children while he was still a priest.

Bristol County Assistant Dist. Atty. Renee Dupuis charged that Porter
sexually assaulted children "in the parish, in the sacristy, in their
own homes, in his vehicle and in assorted other places."

The case against Porter began with accusations by a private
investigator from Cranston, RI.