Analysis of electronic data leads to additional charges against N.S. man

A Windsor Junction, N.S., man charged last year with child pornography offences is facing additional charges after police completed analysisof over 40 electronic devices seized from a home after his arrest.

Robert Edward List, 58, was taken into custody June 25 at a scheduled court appearance in Dartmouth and charged with a slew of offences,includingsexual assault, sexual exploitation and the making and possession of child pornography, Nova ScotiaRCMPannounced in a news release Thursday.

List was also charged with11 counts of failing to comply with a court orderand one of possessing a firearm contrary to a court order. Police say the new chargesrelateto recent and historical offences.

He was remandedpending anappearance in Dartmouth provincial court on July 25.

List was charged in August 2023 with 19 offences, includingsexual assault, luring a child and producing child pornography.He wasreleased with a long list of conditions that included orders to stay off the internet and have nocontact with anyone under the age of 16.

70 terabytes of digital evidence

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Guillaume Tremblaysaid the latest charges came after investigators sifted through70 terabytes of digital evidence.

Tremblaysaid thatrepresents oneof the biggest digital evidence seizures in the history of Nova Scotia'sInternet Child Exploitation unit, which investigates cases of child pornography and exploitation.

He said it takes time to gain access to data on modern devices and then combthrough such a "substantial" volume of data piece by piece.

"They could be using search words. They could be using different softwares, so there's a variety of methods, but essentially it's kinda like,you know, I like to compare newer devices kindalike a house. You have to go through room by room kind of like file by file and go through each folder and verify what's contained within them," said Tremblay.

The historical charges relate to three victims who were youths when the alleged offences took place.

Tremblay said thosealleged offences date back to the 1990s. He saidthe investigation is ongoing.