The trial for a St. John’s man arrested in early 2013 for allegedly possessing child pornography after ordering a child-like sex doll through the mail is expected to continue well into 2018.
When Tuesday’s proceedings wrapped up at provincial court in St. John’s in the case of Kenneth Harrisson, the cross-examination of the lead investigator had not been finished.
Defence lawyer Bob Buckingham indicated to Judge Mark Pike that he would need another half day to finish questioning Const. Terry Follett of the RNC’s child exploitation unit.
Buckingham, along with Pike and Crown prosecutors Trisha McCarthy and Bill Howse, agreed to set the case over until late December, the specific day to be determined soon.
Once Follett’s testimony is completed, the defence can begin calling its own witnesses to the stand, if any.
However, before that happens, the court will hear a charter of rights application filed by Buckingham regarding the constitutionality of the child pornography charges. That’s set for Jan. 23.
Buckingham had also indicated there may one other application.
Once arguments are made and the judge rules on those applications, the trial can continue.
The trial began in January 2016 and has seen several delays due to such issues as witness and lawyers’ scheduling.
There have also been interruptions to hear three defence-filed applications, all of which were dismissed.
The latest was heard Monday morning.
Buckingham had requested disclosure of relevant material from the Crown that may be useful to the defence. The disclosure included records of communications — emails and text messages — between the Crown, police and the Crown’s key witness, Dr. Peter Collins, a forensic psychiatrist, who wrote a report that included his opinion that the doll constituted child pornography.
However, Pike dismissed the application, pointing out that he failed to see how any disclosure, whether it exists or not, would help the defence.
Harrisson — who is not in custody — has pleaded not guilty to four charges: one count each of possessing child pornography and mailing obscene matter, and charges under the federal customs act of smuggling and possessing prohibited goods.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated Harrisson, 52, received a package in the mail that contained what police say is a child-like sex doll, which has been determined is child pornography.
When Harrisson was arrested at his downtown home in March 2013, he told police it was “a love doll.” Police discovered he paid $1,009.36 for the doll, which he ordered from a Japanese company that sells life-like female dolls in a range of ages, from adults to what it calls, “innocent daughter.”
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