Bridgewater-area man convicted on child luring, child porn charges

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. – A 29-year-old Maitland. N.S. man has pleaded guilty to several counts of child luring and accessing child pornography.

Alexander John Ernst was sentenced to three years in prison when he appeared in Bridgewater provincial court Monday.

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The investigation into Ernst began earlier this year when a Bridgewater area man contacted police after his 10 and 12 year-old daughters were approached over social media.

Police say Ernst arranged to meet the girls in person.

The Nova Scotia RCMP’s provincial Internet Child Exploitation unit began an investigation and suspected Ernst of contacting other children online. Police arrested him in February.

In addition to the prison sentence, Ernst has been ordered to submit a DNA test and be listed on the national sex offender registry.