ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The lawyer for a St. John's man facing child pornography charges over a sex doll took aim Monday at a Crown expert witness, saying his research was biased.
Fifty-four-year-old Kenneth Harrisson faces charges of possessing child pornography, mailing obscene matter, and two charges under the federal Customs Act of smuggling and possession of prohibited goods.
In closing arguments before provincial court Judge Mark Pike, Harrisson’s lawyer, Bob Buckingham, highlighted the unprecedented, sensitive nature of the long-running case before addressing the testimony of forensic psychiatrist Peter Collins.
He accused Collins of improper, biased research and called him a "hired gun" for the police and Crown, who only sought information that supported his beliefs about Harrisson's motivations.
Collins testified in 2017 that the doll seized by the Canada Border Services Agency was the size of a child. He said it met the definition of child pornography and that such items appeal to a "pedophiliac subculture."
Buckingham took issue with the fact that the intercepted sex doll was never fully assembled, casting doubt over whether Harrisson had really ordered a child-sized doll.
He also said the web page Harrisson placed the order from would have changed by the time it was viewed by investigators, arguing this makes the website unreliable evidence.
The complicated case, which raises the issue of what constitutes child pornography if no real child was involved, has been working its way through court for years.
Harrisson testified Monday that he did not intend to have sex with the doll and that he had ordered it for companionship to replace his son, who died as an infant.
He ordered the doll from Japan in 2013 and it was intercepted on its way to his St. John's home.