The appellant, Garrett Gauthier, appealed his convictions for accessing, possessing, making available, and making child pornography.
The appeal raised issues regarding the admissibility and scope of expert evidence on Skype technology, the trial judge's application of the legal test for third-party suspects (allegedly reversing the burden of proof), and misapprehension of evidence concerning Skype syncing and opportunity.
The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred in failing to limit the scope of the expert's testimony regarding Skype, misapplied the third-party suspect framework, and misapprehended evidence, leading to a miscarriage of justice.
The appeal was allowed, a new trial was ordered for the accessing, making available, and making child pornography counts, and an acquittal was entered for the possession count due to insufficient admissible evidence of knowledge.
