Summerside man charged with making child pornography

A Summerside man facing an allegation that he took nude photos of an underage girl signed a consent form giving police permission to check his phone for the pictures.

Waylon James Molyneaux, 32, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for a trial on charges of possessing child pornography and making child pornography.

Most of Monday’s proceedings were spent in a voir dire, which is used to determine if certain evidence will be admissible.

The first witness in the trial testified about finding six or seven photos on Molyneaux’s phone of an underage girl, including some with her buttocks, vagina and legs exposed.

The court heard the phone wasn’t locked at the time and the witness deleted the photos out of instinct.

Molyneaux denied having taken the photos, the witness said.

While on the stand, the witness also identified several photos that were in evidence as having been on Molyneaux’s phone.

The only other witness to take the stand Monday was the investigating officer with the Charlottetown police who interviewed Molyneaux.

Before a video of that interview was played in court, defence laywer Peter Ghiz said he would be arguing a police search of the phone was unreasonable.

The video of the interview lasted about two hours and started with the investigating officer saying Molyneaux had already indicated he didn’t want to talk to a lawyer.

During the interview, Molyneaux denied taking any photos.

At one point the officer told Molyneaux the police were going to check his phone.

“I don’t feel that I have anything to fear,” Molyneaux said.

The officer eventually asked Molyneaux if he would sign a consent form to allow the police to search his phone.

Molyneaux said he knew the police had a process to follow and he didn’t want to hinder it.

On the video, the officer is seen leaving the room to get the consent form and returning a few minutes later with the phone.

Molyneaux signed the form and provided the officer with the password to unlock the phone.

The trial resumes today. A publication ban prevents the release of any details that could identify the victim.