The West Hants RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) has charged an Ontario man for sexual offences involving a youth as part of an investigation that began in 2022 and included collaboration with multiple RCMP units and other agencies in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
In November 2022, the West Hants RCMP responded to a report that a youth had received concerning messages and sexually explicit material from an unknown person through a social media platform.
Investigators with the Nova Scotia RCMP Digital Forensics Unit analyzed the content on the youth’s phone. The West Hants RCMP GIS then took steps to digitally trace the source of the communications, leading investigators to suspect they originated from a 29-year-old man in Woodstock, Ontario.
With assistance of the Woodstock Police Service and the RCMP Transnational Serious and Organized Crime (TSOC) Unit in Kitchener, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Woodstock. Officers seized electronic devices, which were then transported back to Nova Scotia for forensic examination.
In May 2025 charges were laid against the man. And in August, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.
On August 25 investigators with West Hants RCMP GIS, the Southwest Nova RCMP Street Crime Enforcement Unit, and the Nova Scotia RCMP Interview Assistance Team travelled to Ontario and safely arrested the man with the assistance of the RCMP TSOC Unit.
He was remanded into custody on August 27 and transported to Nova Scotia. He appeared in Kentville Provincial Court on August 28 to face charges of Luring a Child, Indecent Communications and Transmit Sexually Explicit Material to a Child.
“This investigation serves as an excellent example of the teamwork among units and agencies that is so often required to uncover the facts of a matter, identify a suspect and lay the appropriate charges,” says Sgt. Tim Doyle, West Hants RCMP. “It also reflects the required tenacity of investigators.”
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are anticipated.
File # 2022-1667888
