Earlier this month, the Canadian court system was discussing a case that had the power to set new precedents in terms of child pornography charges. A St. Johns man was charged with child pornography after he bought a sex doll that looked like a child. Now, the verdict for his case is in and it may not be what you expected. This article contains graphic content that might not be suitable for some readers. This article includes descriptions of a sex crime. During closing argument on May 7, 2019, 54-year-old Kenneth Harrisson from Newfoundland faced charges of possessing child pornography, mailing obscene matter, and two charges under the federal Customs Act of smuggling and possession of prohibited goods. The charges stemmed from Harrisson purchasing a sex doll online that was designed to resemble a child. During the trial, Crown questioned Harrisson and his claim that he did not order the doll for the purpose of having sex with it. Harrisson had allegedly purchased the doll from a Japanese website to use as a companion to replace his infant son that had died. While Harrisson admitted to searching on Google the term “sex doll,” he said he chose the doll from a Japanese website because it had the most "male looking face" to resemble his son and “life-like qualities.” Today on May 23, 2019, Crown failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Harrisson knew what was in the box delivered to his St. Johns home in 2013. According to the Huffington Post, Judge Mark Pike said that while Harrison’s claims for ordering the sex doll “did not ring true," but Crown did not meet the burden of proof for a criminal conviction. The judge found Harrisson not guilty of possession of child pornography and mailing obscene material. During trial, he was also acquitted on two charges under the federal Customs Act of smuggling and passion of prohibited goods. Under Canada’s Criminal Code, child pornography is defined as a photo, film, video, or other visual representation, “whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means” that shows a person under 18-years-old engaging in explicit sexual activity. It is believed that this was the first trial of its kind in Canada. While it was the first, it is by far the first time that Canadian customs has taken away sex dolls resembling children. According to Canadian border officials, 42 life-like dolls have been intercepted in less than 2 years. These sex dolls were taken between January 2016 and August 2018. According to CBC, these dolls had “child-like dimensions and features” and were seized as illegal child pornography. Officials in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Hamilton, and Quebec have all come across these child-like sex dolls. Monique St. Germain, a lawyer for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, told CBC that acting out a sexual fantasy on a realistic doll has a “disinhibiting effect.” She claims this could lead someone to prey on a child in real life.