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Judge hitting gavel

(Brand X Pictures)

Syracuse, NY -Should the government be allowed to take photos of a man's penis in order to prove his guilt?

That question was debated Friday morning in Onondaga County Court.

"It was an unusual argument to make today," said defense attorney Steven Buitron.

The debate took place in the case of Bryan Schad, 28, of Mattydale. He is accused of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly sending indecent photos to a 14-year-old girl. The indecent photos were allegedly sent through the social media platform Snapchat, which deletes messages after 10 seconds.

Schad, who is an acquaintance of the girls' family, denies the accusations made against him, Buitron said.

In court Assistant District Attorney Michael Whalen asked Judge Thomas Miller for permission to take photos of Schad's penis as evidence in the government's case.

Photos of Schad's penis would allow the government to show on the witness stand what the complaining witness saw on Snapchat, Whalen said.

"We want a photo to show that this would be something she would have no other way of knowing," the assistant district attorney argued.

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The company that owns Snapchat only records that messages were sent between two people, but it doesn't retain the content of the messages.

Whalen told the judge that the government's request to take photos of someone's penis was no different under the law than asking for a suspect's DNA or hair sample.

Buitron countered that a request to take a photo of a person's private parts was unreasonable.

"It's a huge invasion of my client's privacy," he told the judge.

The request to take the photos is an attempt by the district attorney to create evidence, Buitron told the judge.

The argument between the defense and assistant district attorney continued until the judge cut them off.

"Fellas, I've heard enough," Miller said.

Later Friday afternoon Buitron explained his position to syracuse.com.

The defense attorney said that the photo was not necessary for the prosecutor's case.

"In order to violate the statue it doesn't matter whose penis it is," Buitron said. "If you send it to a minor it's still disseminating material of a sexual nature to a child."

If the government were allowed to take the photo, "now you have a photo of my client's penis bouncing around the case," he said.

Friday afternoon, the judge sent a letter to both sides. The motion to take a photo of Schad's penis was denied, according to the judge's clerk.