Posted on 07/12/2008 8:38:19 PM PDT by Coleus
A former youth pastor accused of secretly taping Bible study students changing clothes in his Ellenton home has pleaded no contest to nine counts of voyeurism. Matthew C. Porter, 31, of Ellenton, is scheduled be sentenced on the misdemeanor charges at the Manatee County Judicial Center on Aug. 21.
He faces up to nine years in prison if sentenced consecutively on the charges, Assistant State Attorney Erica Arend said Friday. The maximum sentence for misdemeanor voyeurism is one year in jail. Porter resigned from Bethel Baptist Church after admitting he secretly videotaped his students ages 12-16, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
The recordings, which took place over a period of two years, show the juveniles undressing and changing in the home, Arend said. His plea on Monday comes a little less than two weeks after Circuit Judge George Brown denied a motion to suppress videotapes and other evidence from the case. Brown ruled deputies had the right to enter Porter's home to take DVD, VHS and and video recording equipment while he was out of town last summer.
Brown made his decision after Porter's attorney Henry Lee filed a motion saying authorities did not have a search warrant or Porter's permission to enter his home in the 300 block of Sally Lee Drive. Instead, a housesitter who found the tapes gave deputies consent to enter the home while Porter was in Mexico, Arend said.
In court, Lee asked the judge to throw out the evidence claiming his client's rights were violated. Lee could not be reached for comment Friday. Porter had been set to go to trial July 14 on the charges. Had Brown not allowed jurors to see the tapes, prosecutors mostly likely would have been forced to drop charges against Porter due to a lack of evidence, Arend said.
Where is old nutcuttin Jesse Jaxzon when you needs him?
I would hope that the Baptists would want to punish this guy as well but who knows what they will think.
This guy’s actions are despicable. But, I’ll ask you again Coleus: Whassup with you man? Every article you post is about a preacher getting busted in a morality case.
Do you have an agenda? Get some therapy.
Were the victims male or female?
Why wouldn't they? I can't imagine anyone (outside of pervs themselves) not wanting this creep punished.
Consider that most Baptist belong to independent churches, Baptist, in general, would not have much input into this guys ultimate fate. ;-)
I guess everyone needs a hobby.
What difference would this make?
Sentence the man to watch Helen Thomas showering not less than 50 times and call it “time served.”
The information might be withheld in order to protect the kids' privacy. Or the minister's privacy. :)
Or that he was checking out the dressing room to make sure no hijinks were taking place?
“I would hope that the Baptists would want to punish this guy as well but who knows what they will think.”
I am not sure exactly what you are getting at, but I am Baptist, and I think the guy should rot in jail. I would guess that somewhere around 98.4% of all Baptists feel the same way.
As for what “the Baptists” will do to him...we have no real church heirarchy beyond local churches(as mentioned above). The guy was hired by a local church. There is nothing for a Baptist association to do to him, other than to make sure he is blackballed from being a minister again...and to pray for him and the victims, which we should all do.
Good question. Perhaps she's trying to prove that priests in Protestant religions get down and dirty in numbers equal to their Catholic brethren.
Why this imbalance? What is your point? This series of yours is now so onesided that we can only conclude that surely you have an agenda, some axe to grind, though only on one side. It's time to divulge it, rather than leaving us to speculate.
Is there anyone on FR who doesn’t have an agenda or axe to grind?
One’s reactions toward others’ axes depends crucially on whether they are used against one: bemused disinterest doesn’t quite suffice when the axes are chopping fuel for the base of the stake.
My interest is simply in busting the illusion of Protestantism being a religion somehow connected to the Holy Scripture. It is not: it is a theological fantasy invented by failed monks and liars in 16c.
The purpose of the FreeRepublic is broader: it is to correct the mainstream media anti-conservative bias. One aspect of this bias is the uncessant reporting on the sexual abuse by Catholic priests, when the truth is that Protestant ministers are statistically abusers at the same rate, and public school teachers — the worst.
That is all there is to it.
At least you are open about your agenda, even though it is (a) completely mistaken and (b) hatefully stated. I am through with you.
Why, what’s mistaken about it?
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