**** RCMP Media Release
Additional charges laid against L’Ardoise man
Child pornography charges have been laid against a L’Ardoise man who was arrested in October 2019 on sexual assault and related offences.
Pursuant to the sexual assault allegations, RCMP investigators searched the suspect’s home on October 1, 2019 and seized his electronic devices. The search of the devices has recently been completed and child pornography was found on them. As a result, James Darren Peters, 49, of Lower L’Ardoise was arrested on March 23, 2020. Peters has been charged with one additional charge of Possession of Child Pornography and is scheduled to appear in Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court on June 29, 2020. He was released by police on strict conditions.
Peters was charged last Fall following a complaint that he sexually assaulted a young male at a department store in Port Hawkesbury and in Sydney in August 2019 and the RCMP appealed to the public to help identify him.
In Nova Scotia it is mandatory for citizens to report suspected child pornography. This means that anyone who encounters child pornography material or recordings must report it to the police. Failing to report suspicious activity and materials could result in penalties similar to failure to report child abuse set out in the Child and Family Services Act. The RCMP encourages citizens to be a voice for children who are victims of sexual exploitation by reporting any suspected offences to your local police or by using Canada’s National tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children at www.cybertip.ca.
