Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Church secretary charged with theft of property

Thefts of property charges have been filed against the former secretary of First Baptist Church.

According to court records, Sandra Porter, 48, of Prescott, has been charged with theft of property from the First Baptist Church, involving the spending of several thousand dollars.

Theft of property is a class B felony punishable by a sentence of 5-20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and a fine not to exceed $15,000.

According to the records, the expenditures were first discovered in September 2001 by Bank of Prescott personnel.

Carl Dalrymple, a local accountant, was hired to go through the church's financial records to see how the funds were taken and how much Porter had reportedly taken over the amount she was paid by the church for her services as secretary.

Dalrymple checked records from July 1996 through September 2001, and found $198,259.14 had been taken from the church's coffers.

Reportedly, the money taken was used by Porter to pay her personal bills. This money was then subtracted from her federal W-2 forms.

Dalrymple used check stubs from the church to help track the money as well.

According to court records, Porter allegedly gave a tape-recorded confession to one of the church deacons, where she admitted taking the money.

Scott Clark, criminal investigator with the Arkansas State Police, was called in to conduct the investigation on Dec. 19, 2001.