Following a bench trial, Steven Walthall was convicted on five counts of aggravated child molestation1 and thirty-five counts of sexual exploitation of children.2 He appeals his convictions and the denial of his motion for new trial, 1 challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and 2 contending that the trial court erred in a denying his motion to suppress evidence seized by means of an allegedly unlawful search warrant, b improperly admitting unauthenticated photographs and video recordings into evidence, and c failing to merge several of his convictions. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 1. We first address Walthall’s contention that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be construed in a light most favorable to the verdict, and Walthall no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence.” Berry v. State .3 When evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia .4
So viewed, the record shows that in March 2003, a detective with the Keene, New Hampshire police department was conducting an undercover investigation of child pornography on the internet by accessing online forums and chat rooms while posing as a 13-year-old boy. In one such forum, the detective made contact with Walthall, who identified himself by the screen name “Bryboi2002,” and who had posted lewd photos of a young boy in the forum. Over the next several weeks, the detective continued the online correspondence with Walthall, during which time Walthall engaged in sexually explicit conversations and sent the detective approximately 100 lewd photographs of young boys. In addition, Walthall claimed to be engaging in various sex acts with two young boys and emailed the detective a photograph of himself having oral sex with one of them. Given the criminal nature of these photographs, the detective subpoenaed Walthall’s internet service provider for information on the account that would identify him. The subpoenaed information revealed Walthall’s name and the fact that he resided in Warner Robins, Georgia. Consequently, the detective contacted the authorities in Houston County and forwarded his investigative file to the Houston County sheriff’s department.
