Paedophile jailed
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| Michael Porter |
A paedophile who avoided jail for committing a series of sexual assaults on children has now been resentenced to 18 months behind bars.
Michael Porter, 38, of Okehampton Close, North Finchley, was resentenced by the Court of Appeal yesterday after the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, judged the original sentence to be "unduly lenient".
Porter carried out his attacks between 1986 and 2000, groping boys as they slept in bed and taking advantage of children as he baby-sat them. Some were unaware they had been abused, including an 18-month-old baby and a three-year-old boy.
In August, Porter was given a three-year community rehabilitation order at Bristol Crown Court after admitting 25 charges of gross indecency and indecent assault.
Judge Thomas Crowther QC decided that "complex" issues in his childhood made his actions "understandable".
He was handed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, banning him from unsupervised contact with children under 18 and living or sleeping at an address where there are children.
The verdict sparked a public outcry and led Baroness Scotland to refer the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
Referring to the original sentence after jailing Porter on Wednesday, Lord Justice Gage said: "The judge took a course which he recognised as lenient and he described the case as exceptional.
"We can understand the judge's reasons for doing so. We recognise that the offender has made considerable efforts to ensure he doesn't commit any offences of this type again.
"But we have to recognise that these were serious offences committed on a number of young children and adolescents over a long time. These offences required an element of punishment as well as an element of mercy. They must be marked with a custodial sentence."
Porter 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 was a member.
Porter's sentencing follows the early release of another convicted paedophile in the borough.
Andrew Josephs, who used to live in Edgware Way, Edgware, was released early from his sentence, police confirmed last week.
As part of his parole, he has been banned from entering the borough of Harrow.
A spokesman for Barnet police said: "The probation service in partnership with the Public Protection Unit at Barnet Police are monitoring Mr Jospehs.
"He is on probation having been released from prison."
Josephs, who used to teach Jewish studies at a Harrow school, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison last March. He was found guilty at Wood Green Crown Court of four counts of indecent assault on one boy, and two of committing sexual activity with a second child.
7:33pm Wednesday 14th November 2007
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