Andrew Taylor, 57, of Mickle Crescent, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court this week for a contest mention hearing after being charged with possessing and manufacturing child pornography.

A contested hearing has been scheduled for December 5.

Police said they received information and went to an address on August 13, were invited in and during a conversation with Mr Taylor a scrapbook was observed.

When asked about the scrapbook, Mr Taylor threw clothes over the book. Officers opened the scrapbook and found pictures of naked prepubescent girls aged as young as nine to 13 years. 

Police said that Mr Taylor told them he cut and pasted pictures of young girls onto the bodies of other images.

Officers analysed 39 images, there were none that included sexual activity and all were rated low on a scale of child pornography.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kevin Mullins said there were only a couple of images that could be classified as pornography. 

“It’s a very, very unusual book,” he said.

Solicitor Matt Senia said there were issues with the police search and seizure of the scrapbook as well as further issues about whether the material was pornography or even if it was artistic.

He said the material did not fall into the definition of child pornography and it could be contended the scrapbook had artistic merit.

Magistrate Michael Coghlan said he had viewed the scrapbook and he identified three images of interest. 

One was of a young girl with two letters covering her body. The other two were pictures of adults with children’s faces superimposed.

The magistrate said he did not believe the images were artistic, that two of the images had been altered to that of a child which he believed may make out a charge of child pornography.