Sarasota religious leader charged with raping child. There may be more victims, cops say

The leader of a local religious organization has been charged with sexually assaulting a child, according to the Sarasota Police Department.

Police said Henry Lee Porter, may have assaulted as many as 40 children over the past several decades.

Porter, 72, who is the founder and president of the Evangelistic Association, Inc., was arrested Thursday and remains in custody in the Sarasota County jail, on a single charge of sexual battery on a child under the age of 12. He is being held without bond.

Police say in October, they received a tip of a video being viewed on Facebook regarding a sexual abuse incident involving a bishop at the Westcoast Center for Human Development, an organization under the umbrella of Porter’s Evangelistic Association.

The video was titled “Art of Manipulation — My survival of Molestation.”

Law enforcement reached out to the victim, who stated the sexual abuse started when he was 15 and lasted until he was 21, according to the report. Deputies say the victim went into detail about how Porter showed him how to perform various sexual acts.

Deputies say the majority of the abuse occurred in Porters “inner office” at Westcoast Center for Human Development.

According to Porter’s website, Westcoast Center for Human Development was awarded the “Freedom Medal in Education,” by the NAACP in 1999. It is one of two organizations under the umbrella of the Evangelistic Association, which Porter founded in 1971.

Porter was featured on the cover of Charisma Magazine in 1981 for helping “Youth Reach Their Potential in Christ,” according to Porter’s website.

Police say the abuse didn’t just stop at one victim.

Interviews with multiple victims revealed similar accounts of ongoing abuse that lasted for years. Many of the victims were under the age of 12 when the abuse began.

One victim told police that Porter would abuse him before and after church services, according to the report.

This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 11:40 AM.