The jury trial of former Hopkinton Police Department Deputy Chief John “Jay” Porter originally scheduled to begin on Dec. 9 has been pushed back to May 12, 2025, at Porter’s request, according to court records and confirmation from a Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson.

This is the second time the highly anticipated trial has been delayed. Judge Laurence D. Pierce on March 28 rescheduled Porter’s jury trial to Dec. 9 from Sept. 16 at the request of both attorneys involved in the case. The reasoning behind the decision then was that Judge James Budreau, who had been presiding over the case, was going to be out of town until the following week. Because of Budreau’s familiarity with the case and the opportunity to gather more information, Assistant District Attorney Maren Schrader and defense counsel Leonardo Angiulo agreed.

During that hearing, Pierce explained that Budreau was going to be transferred to the civil court from the criminal court. Pierce said he believed at that time that Budreau would be able to continue presiding over the case. But Sarah Lamson, a Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson, on Tuesday noted in an email to the Independent that “Judge Patrick Haggan will be presiding as he has since April of this year.”

A trial readiness conference that had been scheduled with Haggan on Nov. 12 was rescheduled to April 10, 2025, at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, according to the masscourts.org website.

Lamson added that “the rescheduling was at the request of the defendant.”

Porter has been accused of three counts of child rape that the alleged survivor said occurred two decades ago during his stint as a school resource officer when she was a Hopkinton High School sophomore.

The alleged survivor had reported information about the alleged assaults to former HPD Sgt. Timothy Brennan, who urged her to bring her accusations to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. His decision not to immediately report these allegations to HPD Chief Joseph Bennett led to a controversial two-part Loudermill hearing that led to Brennan’s termination effective Feb. 12.

Brennan’s termination in turn spurred public outcry from residents who petitioned for his reinstatement and accused Bennett and the Select Board of improper conduct after an improperly redacted investigation report of an interview with Brennan released the alleged survivor’s first name and other identifying information. This interview was conducted as part of a criminal investigation into Porter’s conduct.