Father Defends Baby with Gun

November 24, 2009 permalink

When Florida social worker Hannah Straus entered the home of Kendrick Porter to take his two-month-old baby, he pushed her to the ground and forced a gun to her head. He has been sentenced to 20 years. Reader comments on the story are mixed, but over half are supportive of the father. The severity of the sentence in this and other cases suggests that after pointing a gun at a social worker, it makes little difference whether you pull the trigger. Silver lining: Straus says: "I'll never be able to go back to that work again".

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Posted: 12:02 AM Nov 24, 2009

Man Sentenced for Assaulting DCF Worker

A Leon County man convicted of assaulting a Department of Children and Families worker is sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

Reporter: Denise Wong, Email Address: denise.wong@wctv.tv

"I'll never be able to go back to that work again. I'll never be able to enter people's houses and offer help in the same type of comfort and assurance as I had," said Hannah Straus, a social worker with the Department of Children and Families.

It's been a difficult road toward recovery for Straus.

In July of 2008, the DCF worker was at the home of Kendrick Porter, trying to take his two month old baby into protective custody, when she says Porter pushed her to the ground and forced a gun to her head.

Despite the traumatic ordeal, at Porter's sentencing in Leon County Court on Monday, Straus asked the judge to be lenient.

"It pains me to say that I want his children to be adults before he gets out of prison," Straus said to the judge. "I ask you for the minimum mandatory. 20 years."

In fact, everyone who spoke at the sentencing requested the same thing.

"I'm asking that if the court could give him some kind of leniency," said Jimmy Brookins, Porter's pastor. "Until this incident, I never known of him to be in any kind of altercation."

"He's very regretful that this happened," said Drake H. Gunning, Porter's case manager at Apalachee Center. Gunning said Porter has a history of mental illness and he shouldn't just be locked up; he needs help.

"He's been in special education since he was 5 years old. And from there, he's been through multiple psychiatrists," said Gunning.

Porter showed little movement or emotion in court. Even when he heard the judge's decision.

"We feel that the sentencing was fair," said Traci Leavine, a DCF Spokesperson. "The victim was satisfied and we hope he gets the help that he needs."

Hannah Straus initially went to Kendrick Porter's home last July to follow up on a child abuse case. On Monday, DCF officials said the child is doing fine.

Source: WCTV Thomasville Georgia