Paedophile freed in 'horrific' verdict

1:02am Saturday 1st September 2007

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A paedophile who committed a string of sex attacks against children as young as 18 months old was spared jail last week, prompting a torrent of criticism over the leniency of his sentence.

Michael Porter, 38, of Okehampton Close, North Finchley, walked free from Bristol Crown Court last week, despite admitting three charges of gross indecency and 22 charges of indecent assault.

Judge Thomas Crowther QC decided that 'complex' issues in Porter's childhood made his actions 'understandable' and sentenced him to a three-year community rehabilitation order.

He was also handed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, banning unsupervised contact with children under 18 and living or sleeping at an address where there are children.

Judge Crowther said: "What's important to realise is that you had changed your life before there was any question of these matters being revealed and I'm as satisfied as I can be."

The Attorney General is considering appealing the ruling, which also sparked anger from Porter's victims, child welfare groups and his own sister, Tina Hughes.

Ms Hughes, 40, of Clevedon, near Bristol, said: "He hasn't lost anything. He hasn't even lost his wife. He hasn't been affected in any way. He can go away and pretend nothing has happened because he doesn't have to live here.

"Nothing happened to him as a child. He was the angel of all the family. He is who he is, a paedophile. He will never be safe on the streets."

Michele Elliott, of charity Kidscape, said the sentence was an 'appalling, horrific decision'.

She added: "If ever there was a man who deserved to be in prison, it's this man. He will be a continued danger to children for the rest of his life. I hope the judge can sleep at night."

Porter carried out his attacks between 1986 and 2000, groping boys as they slept in bed and taking advantage of children as he babysat them.

He handed himself in to police in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, last October, after one victim went to leaders of the Portishead Jehovah's Witness church, where he and his family were members.

Robert Davies, prosecuting, said some of the victims were unaware they had been abused, including an 18-month-old baby and a three-year-old boy.

This week, leaders of the Jehovah's Witness church refuted widespread claims that the church was standing by the paedophile.

Jehovah's Witness spokesman Tony Brace, based at the church's national headquarters at The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, said: "Anyone who has been convicted of this type of offence would be removed from office immediately. He would neither be allowed to be an elder nor a charity trustee.

"Of course, he could attend as a member of the public, but the elders of that particular church would keep a strict eye on him."

Peter Bell, presiding overseer of Jehovah's Witness centre, at Kingdom Hall, East Barnet Road, denied media reports that Porter had ever been an elder there.

He said: "The courts misreported the facts. Porter has never been an elder here and never will be. He will not be an elder anywhere.

"He was removed from the church in November as soon as his actions were known. We have a strict protocol that anytime something like this happens, we direct them to go immediately to the police, which is what he did."