Former Hopkinton deputy police chief sentenced for baby rape

A former Hopkinton deputy police chief was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of three counts of rape of a child, according to court records.

John “Jay” Porter was sentenced Monday in Middlesex Superior Court for multiple assaults which occurred in 2004 and 2005 while he was a school resource officer for Hopkinton Public Schools. The victim was a 15-year-old student at Hopkinton High School, according to a statement from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.

During the student’s ninth- and tenth-grade years, she would often go see Porter, the school resource officer, for support. In the tenth grade, her relationship with Porter went from “one of a trusted adult and student to a flirtatious then sexual one,” the DA’s office said.

“The defendant in this case abused his position of power to take advantage of and manipulate a child to gain her trust before sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions,” District Attorney Marian Ryan said in the statement.

One of the assaults took place when Porter volunteered to drive the victim home after she was excused early from school, according to the DA’s office. He then stopped at the police station to exchange his police vehicle for his personal one.

On the way to the victim’s house, Porter stopped the car. He then began kissing and touching the victim all over her body before assaulting her, the DA’s office said.

Later that year, Porter assaulted the victim again after she had been babysitting at his Hopedale home. Porter drove the victim home and began to discuss their relationship before assaulting her, according to the DA’s office.

The Hopkinton Police Department placed Porter on administrative leave in August 2022 pending an investigation, and he was indicted in May 2023. He was found guilty on June 6.

Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday. Leonardo Angiulo and Maura J. Tansley, two of Porter’s attorneys, did not return requests for comment Thursday, and Luke Rosseel, a third attorney for Porter, declined to comment.