COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County District Judge Brent Weigle has scheduled a September 1 hearing in the criminal case against Ryan Shortridge to decide whether prosecutors may use evidence obtained through Michigan State Police access to the defendant’s cell phone.
Shortridge,, faces multiple felony counts stemming from a Michigan State Police Cyber Crime Unit investigation into the possession and distribution of child sexually abusive material.
The investigation began after the messaging app Kik submitted cybertips linking Shortridge’s email and residence to the uploading of graphic videos involving prepubescent children; investigators later obtained a search warrant, seized his phone after he initially denied having it and later admitted hiding it in his truck, and reported finding relevant material along with related messages.
The defense argues that the photo and message evidence should be suppressed and excluded from trial due to Shortridge surrendering his phone to police prior to being read his Miranda Rights.
Judge Weigle agreed to hear testimony during the September hearing before ruling if the evidence will be permitted at trial, a common point of pretrial litigation in digital-evidence cases.
Shortridge was arraigned in January on seven felony charges that include aggravated child sexually abusive activity , using a computer to commit a crime, possession-related counts, and tampering with evidence.
Bond was set at $200,000 cash or surety with conditions barring contact with minors, internet access, and travel outside his Indiana workplace. The upcoming hearing will focus specifically on the admissibility of evidence derived from police examination of the phone, a common point of pretrial litigation in digital-evidence cases.
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