Voyeurism trial for Halifax-area school teacher nearing end

The voyeurism trial of a Halifax-area school teacher is nearing its conclusion.

Four women have accused Matthew Douglas Moriarty, 43, of taking pictures of them in a public washroom at the Abenaki Aquatic Club in Dartmouth. His trial has been going on all week in Dartmouth provincial court.

The final two Crown witnesses are members of Halifax Regional Police.

A constable who participated in Moriarty's arrest on July 20, 2023, testified about how members and employees of the club were rounded up and held at the boat house until they could be questioned by detectives.

The officer said he did not hear people discussing details of the allegations against Moriarty.

The other police witness was Special Const. Rodney Smith, who was certified as an expert able to give opinion evidence on cellphones and their programming.

When he started testifying on Wednesday, Smith said he was unable to find any voyeuristic images or videos on Moriarty's cellphone.

Some files deleted, expert testifies

When his testimony resumed on Friday morning, Smith said some files had been deleted from the phone. He said once images are transferred to the delete bin and the bin is emptied, there is no way to recover those images, or determine what they were.

Smith said when he started searching the phone on July 22, the first thing that popped up was the video game Bubble Shooter Dragon. Smith said that game was likely the last thing Moriarty was using before the phone was seized.

A number of employees and members of the aquatic club testified at the trial that they saw Moriarty use his phone in the washrooms, just like the four complainants have alleged. The judge must decide whether this similar fact evidence can be used against him in this trial.

Once the judge rules on the similar fact argument, the defence will indicate whether it will call evidence. Then there will be closing arguments.

The matter is scheduled to return to court on August 21 to deal with the outstanding issues.

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