Child porn accused says police had grudge against him

A former senior sergeant facing child pornography charges claims the Hamilton CIB has a "thing" about him dating back to his police days.

Mike Meyrick, 57, has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges of possessing objectionable material relating to 204 images of child pornography police allegedly found on his computer hard drive and a further 176 allegedly found on computer floppy disks.

Meyrick, now a lawyer and representing himself in the trial, was charged after his now-estranged wife, Marion Ashby, took his computer hard drive to police in August 2003. They then searched his Huntly home.

In the Hamilton District Court yesterday, Meyrick applied to have the search warrant ruled invalid, suggesting the officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Eddie Carr, had embellished an affidavit and had no legal grounds for the search.

The application was declined by Judge Geoff Ellis.

In cross-examining Mr Carr, Meyrick claimed the Hamilton CIB had a "thing" about him. "It goes back to my days in the police," he said to Mr Carr.

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'thing'. I'm not aware of any 'thing' they have about you," Mr Carr said.

Meyrick asked Mr Carr if he was known as a liar. Judge Ellis told the officer he need not reply.

The judge also censured Meyrick for giving a commentary on Mr Carr's answers.

A forensic data processing technician with the police electronic crime lab, Campbell MacKenzie, gave evidence yesterday, saying he had analysed the computer hard drive and disks given to him by police.

Mr Mackenzie told Crown prosecutor Philip Crayton he had the ability to retrieve material from the disks which had been overwritten or deleted, but it depended on the size of the hard drive and the amount of use it had had.

The hearing continues today.