Former Sarasota Bishop Found Guilty Of Sexually Abusing Children

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A former Sarasota bishop was found guilty Friday of sexually abusing children decades earlier.

A jury, which deliberated for three hours, found Henry Lee Porter Sr., 74, guilty of two counts of sexual battery of a victim under the age of 12. He faces a minimum of 25 years in jail and a maximum of life in prison.

The founder of Westcoast Center for Human Development, Porter Sr. stepped down from a leadership role with the nondenominational church in 2016 after 45 years, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.

He was arrested by Sarasota police in January 2020 after several victims accused him of sexual abuse. An investigation found more than a dozen victims — both adults and children — though he was ultimately only charged with two counts of sexual battery, reports said.

Porter Sr. faced several of his victims during a five-day criminal trial. One victim, a man now 40 years old, testified that he was groomed by Porter and sexually abused by the church leader from the time he was 11 years old until he turned 21, according to WFTS.

He said the abuse took place in a private, locked room at the Westcoast Center for Human Development, a space only Porter had access to.

"Then we would put our clothes back on, we would always pray and then confess our faults to each other," the victim said.

Another accuser told the jury that he was abused by Porter starting in 1989 when he was just 12 years old.

State Attorney Ryan Felix called the accusations against Porter a “case of manipulation,” according to WTSP.

"Henry Lee Porter harnessed the word of God to sexually abuse children," he said.