NS man convicted of child luring, child porn offences granted day parole

A Nova Scotia man convicted of child luring and accessing child pornography has been granted day parole.

READ: NS man who tried to lure children, accessed child porn, soon eligible to apply for parole

Alexander John Ernst was sentenced to three years in prison in June 2015. Parole Board of Canada documents obtained by Global News show that Ernst used social media to attempt to lure underage females, and one of the potential victims turned out to be an undercover police officer.

A search of his computer following his arrest also turned up 250 deleted images of child pornography.

The case came to light after a Bridgewater man contacted police and reported that his 10 and 12-year-old daughters were allegedly approached over social media. Police said Ernst had arranged to meet the girls in person.

Ernst has been a registered sex offender for nearly a decade, with prior convictions for accessing and possessing child pornography.

Parole documents show Ernst acknowledged being attracted to “younger and smaller females, about age 12 or so,” and refer to him as “a work in progress.”

When rendering their decision, the board said they were satisfied that a “deviant sexual interest and poor emotional regulation” were factors in the offence and granted Ernst day parole until his statutory release date.

The documents also show that during his sentence he completed sex offender programming “at a level of intensity that was consistent with your level of risk,” and as a result “gained in skills and tools that better equip you in recognizing deviant thoughts and risk situations.”  The board said he “demonstrated a motivation for change.”

The board imposed a number of conditions on Ernst’s release including that he not own, use or possess a computer or any device that would allow him unsupervised access to the Internet.

He is also not allowed to purchase or acquire any type of pornography and cannot be in, near or around places where children under the age of 16 are likely to gather, like schools, parks, swimming pools or recreational facilities.