FORT WORTH — A businessman hand-wrote a letter of support for him. The man's uncle, a government official, described him as someone who "has touched many hearts in our Church family." And a Tarleton State University professor called him a man of "integrity, respectful of those around him and guided by his Christian principles."
In all, Matthew Porter of Granbury, Texas, received 10 letters of support when he faced misdemeanor charges of video voyeurism in a Florida court in 2008.
Today, Porter, 33, is under investigation by Granbury police, accused of secretly photographing people in bathrooms.
Granbury police first arrested him Jan. 7 after a camera was found hidden in a bathroom of a Granbury nursing home where Porter served as a chaplain. Porter was later released on $20,000 bail on a charge of improper photography or visual recording.
Porter was re-arrested Tuesday on a second count of the offense after police determined that he had placed a hidden camera in the bathroom of his home, said Granbury police Capt. Alan Hines on Thursday. Porter is free on bond again after posting $25,000 bail.
Hines estimated that investigators have seized more than 4,000 photographs from Porter's camera.
"This case is still ongoing," Hines said.
Porter was a volunteer associate pastor at The Church at Granbury, and he served as a chaplain at Harbor Lakes Plaza Nursing and Rehabilitation in Granbury, where the hidden camera was discovered.
He is no longer associated with Granbury churches or nursing homes, his attorney has said.
In Florida, Porter was a youth minister when he was accused of videotaping teen-age Bible study students as they changed clothes at his home. He pleaded no contest to nine counts of misdemeanor voyeurism. While he was facing a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, after a number of people weighed in on Porter's behalf, he was sentenced to 120 days in the Manatee County Jail to be followed by one-year probation.
Florida criminal court records include the letters written in support of Porter.
One came from the Rev. C.C. Risenhoover of The Church at Granbury. In a letter dated Aug. 8, 2008, Risenhoover, then senior pastor at Gateway Community Church in Granbury, stated that Porter "will not only have our consul and support, but also that of loving parents."
Earlier this week, Risenhoover told the Star-Telegram that he didn't know that Porter had been accused of video voyeurism in Florida.
Thursday, Risenhoover said that he had understood that Porter was facing the Florida charges after using a camera to try to catch burglars. He said he wasn't aware of accusations involving photos of teen-agers undressing.
"I had known his parents for years, but I didn't know him that well," Risenhoover said Thursday. "I went by what his parents said and what other people told me about him. I was willing to let him work with us."
Porter's father and grandfather were longtime residents of Hood County, according to the letters.
As a teenager, Porter was a member of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury and was hired as a sound technician for the Christian musical drama, The Promise.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/01/20/2785085/letters-supported-voyeurism-suspect.html#ixzz1BhLmoyvS