Paso Robles child molestation suspect charged with 31 counts
Jason Robert Porter, the Paso Robles man arrested twice in the last month on suspicion of molesting at least nine young girls, was formally charged Wednesday with 31 counts and remains in San Luis Obispo County Jail on a rare — if not unprecedented — $7 million bail.
Porter, 44, was first arrested June 23 after an incident outside a home in the 1000 block of Vista Grande in Paso Robles in which a woman alleged she caught Porter taking lewd photographs of her daughter.
Porter posted bail, but investigators searched Porter’s house two blocks away in the 800 block of the street and allegedly found “thousands” of images and videos of children engaging in sexual acts, including some that showed Porter molesting children, a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office news release said.
An arrest warrant was issued and Porter was arrested July 15 in South Pasadena.
On Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Porter with 16 felony counts ranging from lewd acts with a child under the age of 14; oral copulation with a child and possession of material depicting a child engaged in sexual acts; and 15 misdemeanors of using a concealed camera.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court Thursday but the hearing was continued to Aug. 2. He has not yet entered a plea.
This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Paso Robles child molestation suspect charged with 31 counts."