Former Priest Pleads Not Guilty to Molestation Charges

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.

At 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, R.I.