CALIFORNIA
The Tribune
BY MATT FOUNTAIN
mfountain@thetribunenews.com
The mother of a Paso Robles man accused of molesting 18 young children spoke out Friday, days after she lost her job as vice principal of a San Luis Obispo Catholic school, claiming that she was not aware of accusations against her son.
“Had Jason displayed behavior that would have led me to think him capable of hurting children, I would have turned him in myself,” Margaret Porter of Paso Robles wrote in an email Friday. She also castigated “the local blogosphere” for its treatment of her after her adult son’s arrest.
Jason Robert Porter, 44, was arrested in June and then arrested again last month on suspicion of molesting 18 children and creating and possessing child pornography. The criminal complaint filed July 19 by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office lists 18 children ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old.
Porter has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges and remains in San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $7 million bail. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing Monday.
On Tuesday, Tina Ballantyne, principal of Old Mission Catholic School in San Luis Obispo, sent an email to parents of students there, saying Margaret Porter would no longer be employed at the school, where she has been vice principal since June 2015.
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