Deputy court clerk accused of using records to find girls for sadistic sex

A Pierce County Superior Court deputy clerk is accused of using court records to find an inmate and ask for help tracking down underage girls he could have sex with and beat up.

James Porter, 47, was charged Tuesday with commercial sexual abuse of a minor. He was arrested Monday as he prepared to leave for work.

Deputy prosecutor Neil Horibe asked for $250,000 bail, saying Porter abused his access to records.

Defense attorney Gary Clower said his client is a lifelong resident of Pierce County who has worked at the Clerk’s Office for 20 years. He has no criminal history and should be released on personal recognizance, he argued.

“At this point, this is nothing but an allegation,” Clower said.

Court commissioner Meagan Foley set bail at $100,000.

“Even in the best possible light, Mr. Porter was allegedly soliciting to have sex with a minor,” Foley said. “It is one of the most vulnerable segments of our society that Mr. Porter is allegedly targeting.”

Charging documents give this account:

An informant told Lakewood police the informant had been called by Porter, whom the informant met earlier in the year after getting a ride home from a gas station.

Porter said he’d gotten the informant’s phone number by accessing records through his job and called because he knew the informant has a history of prostitution.

In September, prosecutors say, Porter asked the informant to hook him up with a woman he could pay for sex and to assault. He also sent photos of bruised and battered women and claimed he’d hurt them.

The informant cut off communication with Porter.

Porter texted again in October and asked whether the informant “knew anyone that was into being sexually assaulted and punched, whipped and maybe even cut with a knife,” records show.

The informant brought a woman to Porter’s home on Nov. 1 but they quickly left because they had a “bad feeling.”

Porter than asked for an underage girl, which prompted the informant to contact police.

Detectives arranged a meet with Porter but he texted the informant that he felt police were involved and did not show up. He then requested a 13-year-old girl.

Detectives reviewed text messages between Porter and the informant and said they described “the defendant’s extremely sadistic fetishes with women and underage girls.”

Porter allegedly admitted to requesting an escort but denied looking for minors.

“The defendant went on to say he was only messing with the (informant) and that he wasn’t actually going to follow through with meeting the juvenile and having sex with her.”

During a search of Porter’s home, detectives seized a suitcase full of sex toys, computers and a .40-caliber pistol.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 6:57 AM with the headline "Deputy court clerk accused of using records to find girls for sadistic sex."