Ex-deputy Pierce County court clerk sentenced for trying to find girls for sex, to assault

James Porter’s search for sex with underage girls cost him a 20-year career as a Pierce County Superior Court deputy clerk, and almost two years of incarceration.

Judge Edward Murphy on Friday sentenced the 48-year-old to one year, nine months behind bars after accepting the recommendation of the prosecution and defense.

That was the low end of Porter’s sentencing range, the high end of which was two years, three months.

Porter has no criminal history, and defense attorney Gary Clower told the court: “He’s accepted responsibility for what he did here.”

Prosecutors accused Porter of using court records to find underage girls to beat up and have sex with. Earlier this year he pleaded guilty to their charge of commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

Clower noted that Porter was fired from the clerk’s office after the crime, and that he would face the challenge of finding a new job upon his release.

Porter apologized in court, and said he’d used bad judgment.

According to charging papers:

Porter gave someone a ride home from a gas station in June and later used court records to find the person’s phone number.

In September, he got in touch to say he was looking for a woman he could pay for sex and to assault. He knew, he said, the person had a history of prostitution.

Porter eventually asked for an underage girl, at which point the person told police what had happened.

Text messages detectives found between the informant and Porter described the former deputy clerk’s sadistic fetishes.

He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Ex-deputy Pierce County court clerk sentenced for trying to find girls for sex, to assault."