Analysis of electronic data leads to additional charges against NS man

A Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia, man charged last year with child pornography offences faces additional charges after police completed an analysis of more than 40 electronic devices seized from his home following his arrest.

Robert Edward List, 58, was arrested June 25 during a scheduled court appearance in Dartmouth and charged with a range of offences, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation and making and possessing child pornography, Nova Scotia Mounted Police said in a news release Thursday.

List was also charged with 11 counts of failing to comply with a court order and one count of possessing a firearm contrary to a court order. Police say the new charges relate to recent and historic offences.

He was remanded in custody pending a July 25 hearing in provincial court in Dartmouth.

List was charged in August 2023 with 19 offences, including sexual assault, enticing a child and producing child pornography. He was released with a long list of conditions including an order to refrain from using the internet and not maintain contact with persons under 16 years of age.

70 terabytes of digital evidence

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said the latest charges come after investigators combed through 70 terabytes of digital evidence.

Tremblay said it is one of the largest seizures of digital evidence in the history of Nova Scotia’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit, which investigates cases of child pornography and child abuse.

He added that it takes time to access the data on modern devices and then review such a “significant” amount of data piece by piece.

“They can use keywords. They can use different software, so there are a number of methods, but it’s basically like if you wanted to compare newer devices, it’s kind of like a house. You have to go through room by room, kind of like file by file, go through each folder and see what’s in it,” Tremblay said.

The historical allegations involve three victims who were young at the time of the alleged crimes.

Tremblay said these alleged crimes date back to the 1990s. He said the investigation is ongoing.