Nation : Ex-Bakker Aide Sobs for Mercy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Richard Dortch, Jim Bakker’s right-hand man at the PTL Ministry, sobbed for mercy today before a federal judge who said he probably would reduce Dortch’s eight-year prison sentence for fraud.

“For almost five years, I had been in a prison of my own, a prison I built for myself,” Dortch, 58, told U.S. District Judge Robert Potter between bouts of weeping. “I’ve come to see that prison is more than a physical place. I believe I’ve learned my lesson well.”

Potter said he needs time to consider the request for reducing the sentence for Dortch, who reported in February to a country club federal prison in Florida where prisoners live in unlocked dormitories and are free to play golf or tennis if they choose.

Dortch, whose testimony was crucial in convicting Bakker, pleaded guilty in August to four of 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy. Potter said he could not forget the fraud that Dortch, Bakker and others at PTL perpetrated against the television ministry’s loyal followers.