A survivor of priest abuse recalls his 1989 memory of being molested by Rev. James R. Porter, a disclosure that led him to publicly name Porter in 1992 and helped spur a broader investigation.

Initial reporting in 1992 captured Fitzpatrick’s and other victims’ accounts, with Porter admitting he molested dozens of children, which set off a wider effort to identify further victims.

Porter, who served in multiple Massachusetts parishes, was indicted in 1992 and pled guilty in 1993 to 41 counts of abuse, receiving an 18-to-20-year sentence and later dying in 2005 while awaiting a sexual dangerousness hearing.

A 2026 Massachusetts attorney general report on the Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester dioceses affirms survivors’ long-standing claims that Porter was repeatedly reintegrated into ministry after hospitalizations, echoing Fitzpatrick’s advocacy.

Fitzpatrick, now retired in Rhode Island, says the AG’s 2026 investigation is important and wishes such scrutiny had started earlier, around 1992 rather than decades later.

Fitzpatrick founded Survivor Connections to assist victims in gathering evidence and pursuing justice, including a victim-led database and guidance on civil and criminal actions against abusers.