72-year-old man to defend himself against library child porn charges

DUNCAN — A 72-year-old Duncan man accused of accessing child pornography on the public library computers will be allowed to represent himself in court.

On Monday, John Lee Haney offered a motion for self-representation and waived the right to assistance of council in Stephens County District Court. Special District Judge Brent G. Russell granted the motion the same day.

Haney made his initial appearance in court on Sept. 18, 2023, where he was charged with a felony count of possession of child pornography. On May 21, the charge was amended to include another count of aggravated possession of child pornography, records indicate.

Haney was arrested in September 2023 after police were called to the Duncan Public Library after obscene materials were found on a library computer. Another person had called police earlier that day due to a then-unidentified man in Study Room 1 looking at inappropriate pictures.

While police were at the library, a librarian told the man, later identified as Haney, the room was being shut down for an event and he left, the warrant affidavit states. She then secured the computer to secure the man’s searches for police.

Several browser pages were left open, including one with his email. A search history found several searches including for “Kidcest” and “KiddieLover,” the affidavit states. The first site showed several photos of completely nude infant and toddler females, while others were of girls from 8 years old to mid-teens, according to police.

The study room security camera revealed Haney’s alleged method of obtaining child pornography. On video, he was seen multiple times pulling up photos, enlarging them and then taking a photo of the computer screen with his cellphone, according to the affidavit.

After Haney’s initial court appearance was terminated, he appeared before Russell on Nov. 16, 2023, and was jailed on $250,000 bond with the order to have no contact with minor children or the library.

An evaluation to determine competency cleared Haney to continue in court, a preliminary hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 4, records indicate.