Porter said to have incurable cancer; seeks end to civil case
NEW BEDFORD -- Former priest James Porter has incurable cancer and could die in less than a year, says his lawyer, who plans to ask a judge to halt civil commitment proceedings against the convicted pedophile.
''The tumor cannot be treated, and there is no cure for it at this time," defense lawyer Michael F. Farrington wrote in a motion filed in New Bedford Superior Court. ''The prognosis for survival is six months to one year."
Porter, 69, was convicted in 1993 of molesting 28 children during the 1960s and 1970s while he was a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Fall River.
He completed his prison sentence in January, but has remained in custody while prosecutors sought to have him locked up indefinitely as a sexually dangerous person.
A judge ruled in April that there was enough evidence to hold a trial on the matter, but the cancer diagnosis could end the state's attempt to have him civilly committed, the Standard-Times of New Bedford reported.
Assistant District Attorney Renee Dupuis said prosecutors will ask Porter's lawyer for a letter from his doctor detailing his condition. ''We want to determine the accuracy of the filing," she said.
According to the motion, Porter was admitted to a Department of Correction hospital in Boston on Sept. 16 for pain in his left hip and a swollen left calf. 