A Supreme Court of B.C. Justice has acquitted a Vernon man on three counts of child pornography.
Madam Justice Hope Hyslop acquitted William Murray Phelps Munton, born in 1961, Wednesday morning at the Vernon Courthouse.
Munton had been facing two counts of making child pornography and one count of possession of child porn. The alleged offences happened between May 2011 and June 2016.
His lawyer, Julian van der Walle, filed a charter application at the beginning of Munton’s trial Monday, asking that evidence seized from Munton’s home and cell phone by RCMP with search warrants. The warrants, said defence, were invalid except for evidence that was being gathered for an unrelated matter involving Munton.
According to court documents, Hyslop agreed with the application, and as Crown was calling no other witnesses in the trial – scheduled to last four days – Hyslop acquitted Munton of the charges.
Munton is still facing a myriad of arson charges relating to a bunch of fires in Vernon in 2014. He is slated to return to court on those matters next month.