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Nova Scotia RCMP have now charged an Ontario man with more than 40 sexual offences involving minors. 

Sebastien Michael Vienneau, 29, of Woodstock, Ont., originally appeared in Kentville provincial court on Aug. 28 to face charges of luring a child, indecent communications and transmitting sexually explicit material to a child.

In a news release Tuesday, RCMP said a slew of additional charges have now been laid against Vienneau as part of an investigation that began in 2022.

The release said more than 40 charges were laid in Kentville provincial court on Dec. 11 involving 30 victims who were youths at the time of the alleged offences.

An RCMP spokesperson said not all the alleged victims were in Nova Scotia, and there are some who may live outside Canada.

Const. Dave Trenholm, the main investigator in the case, said the alleged victims were contacted via the internet.

“Generally speaking, [in] these investigations, many platforms are sort of part of the investigation,” he said. “These things can happen everywhere on multiple different platforms and sometimes simultaneously on different platforms.”

The investigation began after a youth in Nova Scotia reported receiving sexually explicit material from an unknown person through social media.

Mounties traced communications on the victim’s phone and seized electronic devices from a residence in Woodstock.

Vienneau was arrested and transported to Nova Scotia after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest in August. 

He is scheduled to return to Kentville provincial court on Jan. 6 to face charges that include luring a child (30 counts), making sexually explicit material available to a child (eight counts), indecent communications (two counts), and making, possessing, distributing or accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

The investigation is ongoing and RCMP say it’s possible that there are more victims. 

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