https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/closing-arguments-child-sex-doll-trial-child-pornography-1.5125839#:~:text=Kenneth%20Harrisson%2C%2054%2C%20ordered%20the%20doll%20from%20Japan%20in%202013,-Holly%20McKenzie-Sutter&text=Fifty-four-year-old,and%20possession%20of%20prohibited%20goods.
Trial of man charged with child porn over sex doll hears closing arguments
Kenneth Harrisson, 54, ordered the doll from Japan in 2013
Holly McKenzie-Sutter · The Canadian Press · Posted: May 07, 2019 9:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 7, 2019
Kenneth Harrisson was arrested when he took possession of a package that contained a child sex doll. (Glenn Payette/CBC)
A judge hearing an unusual child pornography trial says his verdict will hinge on whether a Newfoundland man knew the sex doll he ordered online was designed to resemble a child.
Crown lawyers argued that the doll is a three-dimensional form of child pornography and questioned Harrisson's testimony that he did not order it to have sex with.
Harrisson's lawyer cast doubt on the reliability of the Japanese website Harrisson ordered the product from, and argued there's no way to know what size of doll his client meant to order.
This box, seen here in court in 2017, contained an unassembled child sex doll. (Glenn Payette/CBC)
Pike zeroed in Tuesday on the question of Harrisson's knowledge as essential to proving his guilt.
"For your case to succeed you have to satisfy me beyond a reasonable
Harrisson had 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.
Doll intercepted at border
He ordered the doll from Japan in 2013, but it was intercepted on its way to his St. John's home.
Harrisson said he did a Google search of the term "sex doll" and said he chose the photo that showed the most "male-like" face to resemble his son who would have been around 25 in 2013.
Child sex doll trial opens Pandora's box of questions about child porn
The prosecution team disputed Harrisson's testimony, saying the intercepted doll and the price Harrisson said he paid best resembled dolls marketed as children on the website, and those products fit the definition of child pornography.
Canada's Criminal Code defines child pornography as "a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means" that shows a person who is, or depicted as being, under 18 years old engaged inexplicit sexual activity.
Lawyer Bob Buckingham chats with his client Kenneth Harrisson, who is charged with importing a child sex doll. (Glenn Payette/CBC News)
Crown prosecutor Dana Sullivan argued Harrisson ordered a deluxe set with makeup and other accessories, suggesting intent to have sex with it.
Prosecutor Bill Howse pointed out that Harrisson only testified that the child he lost was a boy when Howse directly asked him.
Harrisson had said he chose to buy a sex doll for its lifelike qualities and said he intended to dress the doll in male clothing.
Harrisson intended to buy adult doll: Defence
Harrisson's lawyer, Bob Buckingham, highlighted the unprecedented, sensitive nature of the case before disputing the testimony of a Crown expert witness.
He accused forensic psychiatrist Peter Collins of improper,biased research, calling him a "hired gun" for the police and Crown who only sought information that supported his beliefs about Harrisson's motivations.
Collins testified 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."
It's child porn, says forensic psychiatrist at St. John's sex doll case
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.