A Gwinnett County judge has ruled that lurid photographs stored on the computer of a former Cub Scout leader accused of molesting or sexually exploiting more than a dozen children can be admitted at trial next month.
The defense had sought to keep the photographs out of court. Harry Brett Taylor, 48, of Lawrenceville is accused of molesting or sexually exploiting 16 boys. Some of the alleged victims were relatives, but most were members of his Cub Scout troop who said they were photographed or fondled by Taylor during sleepovers and other gatherings at his home. The events were not affiliated with Cub Scouts, but the boys knew Taylor because he was a den leader.
The pictures are alleged to depict naked boys and girls, as well as Taylor molesting a young boy, and a boy with a gas mask over his face, according to court records.
"We could have tried the case without it, but it's pretty significant evidence," Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said.
Taylor, who has been in jail without bond since his arrest in July 2008, has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorney Walt Britt tried to prevent the photos from being shown to jurors. He argued in a motion to suppress that the officer's search warrant application was flawed because it didn't include a verbatim statement from the first child who reported Taylor. Britt also argued there was too long a delay between the time the search warrant was issued and when investigators actually analyzed computers and camera equipment seized from Taylor's home.
Superior Court Judge William Ray ruled Tuesday that the warrant application was sufficient. He also said prosecutors had a reasonable explanation for the delay in examining Taylor's computers, because investigators had to purchase special software to tap into Taylor's hard drive.
Britt said the judge's decision was wrong and that he had compounded the error by refusing to grant the defense a pretrial appeal.
Taylor, a community leader who owned a website design business, was also a member of the county library board and a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, a Chamber of Commerce leadership development program.
The trial is slated to start Aug. 6.
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