Four Nova Scotia men are facing charges related to child pornography.
The Nova Scotia RCMP conducted four separate search warrants from Feb. 18 to 26 as part of a national operation to crack down on child sexual exploitation, according to a news release from the RCMP.
On Feb. 18, Kentville police, along with the RCMP, searched a home on Forest Hill Road. They found and seized several electronic devices. After examining the devices, they found child pornography on a cell phone and arrested one man. He faces charges of possessing and transmitting child pornography.
On Feb. 19, RCMP, including the Guysborough and Antigonish departments, used a warrant to search a home on Highway 16 in Boylston. Officers found child porn on a cell phone seized at the scene. Police arrested a 24-year-old man and charged him with possessing and transmitting child pornography.
On Feb. 20, RCMP searched a home on Ginger Root Lane in Eskasoni First Nation and police say they found “a substantial amount of child pornography saved and organized on seized devices.” One man was arrested and will face charges related to possessing and transmitting child pornography, police say.
On Feb. 26, the RCMP searched a business on Highway 3 in Ste. Anne du Ruisseau, near Yarmouth. Officers arrested another man, aged 51, and seized media storage devices that contained child pornography. They also say they found two unsecured guns. The man faces several charges, including possessing child pornography and carelessly storing a gun and unauthorized possession of a gun.
All four were released on conditions and will appear in court at a later date.
The national operation, called Project Steel, lasted for 12 days total, and included several branches of the RCMP, as well as local law enforcement agencies.
It lead to 106 people being arrested, and 37 children have been safeguarded.
