UPDATE: Police continue to search for males in Forcible Confinement / Sexual Assault investigation
HALIFAX – Police across Nova Scotia continue to search for two men charged with Forcible Confinement and Sexual Assault following a recent incident in Upper Chelsea.
Police have received several tips from the public over the past 24 hours. The RCMP Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit is leading the investigation. RCMP front line patrol members and municipal policing partners across Nova Scotia are working together to locate the accused, 47-year-old David James Leblanc and 31-year-old Wayne Alan Cunningham.
The preliminary investigation has determined the 16-year-old male victim was held against his will for a period of 10 to 14 days. Investigators are also able to release details about the vehicle(s) the accused may be traveling in. Members of the public are asked to contact police if they see a 2003 Gray Hyundai Elantra with a Nova Scotia licence plate FBP 233, or a 2002 Brown Chevrolet Venture van with a Nova Scotia licence plate EZG 581. Members of the public are once again advised to contact police immediately if they recognize the accused and not approach them directly.
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One of the two men wanted in the case of a forcible confinement and sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy in the South Shore is currently facing several sex charges.
RCMP are on a man hunt for David James Leblanc, 47, and Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31, after being contacted on Monday evening about a 16-year-old boy in need of help after being allegedly forcibly confined inside a residence on Faulkner Road in Upper Chelsea in Lunenburg County.
Police say the men could be in either Lunenburg County or HRM.
Leblanc is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing in November on several child pornography charges as well as charges of sexual assault and sexual interference.
The boy is currently safe after being taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police say.
Charges of forcible confinement and sexual assault have now been laid against both men.
“We are asking the public for help and any details that will help us find these men,” said Nova Scotia RCMP spokesman Sgt. Alain Leblanc.
Alice Arnold, 79, said she heard someone knocking at her back door in a panic Monday night. She answered and saw a terrified man with chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles and offered to call the police.
“Don’t call the police,” Arnold said the teen told her. “It will make it worse for me.”
And then the teen took off, Arnold said.
“The kid was terrified, there’s no doubt about that,” Arnold said.
“My impression was he didn’t have any clothing on. He had chains wrapped around each wrist, but they weren’t tethered together, and the same with hisankles.” – with files from The Toronto Star
