Testimony begins in Daniel and Alisha Hall trials - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(10/25/12) - They are accused of the unthinkable. 

Testimony started Thursday in the trials for Daniel and Alisha Hall.

The Mt. Morris couple faces criminal sexual conduct and child pornography charges.  They are being tried together, but with separate juries.
 
Investigators say Daniel sexually abused their infant daughter while Alisha recorded it.  They were charged in February.  Alisha was pregnant with their second child at the time.

Police and prosecutors have said from the start hundreds, if not thousands, of pornographic images were found on their computer equipment.  Investigators have said about a dozen include the couple's then 6-month-old daughter.

"Over time you can tell what is produced by internet and what is homemade," says Birch Run Police Office Jason Wise.  "What caught my attention was a serious number of photos among the other photos."

Wise says he flagged 13 photos after reviewing what was seized from the Hall's Mt. Morris home.

Prosecutors and police have said they recovered images of Daniel sexually abusing his daughter.

Jurors were shown pictures Thursday.

Wise began investigating around Christmastime, he says, after being contacted by a Birch Run couple who claimed they met a man and his wife on a swinger's website.  The man requested a naked picture of their 8-year-old daughter, Wise says.

"They (the Birch Run couple) did not want to be brought up in this because of the site," Wise says.

Wise investigates computer crimes.  He says the couple told him they contacted him because they'd seen his name in articles online.

Using a fake profile, Wise contacted someone with the screen name they provided.  It included the words "family fun."

They chatted.

Wise read the chat in court Thursday.  

"My name is Dan. I'm into kiddies," he read.  "The wife is a little too."

"I like everything, but especially fond of kids," Wise read.

Genesee County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Poulos read what the officer typed during the chat.

"Lol. Wow," Poulos read. "What do you mean kids?"

"I like doing things with young kids," Wise read.  "I like about three to 11 years."

In the chat, according to what was read in court, Dan says he hasn't been with kids so far because they're hard to find.

Dan indicated he and his wife had watched videos and seen pictures, according to the chat read in court.

Authorities allege it was Daniel Hall chatting with the officer.  At one point in the chat, according to testimony in court,  the person chatting with Wise indicates his wife's name is Alisha. 

Wise, under cross examination by Daniel's defense attorney Mark Clement, says he did not trace that chat to devices taken from the Hall home.  Clement says police aren't able to determine who exactly Wise was chatting with either.

Testimony continues Friday.