Halifax Foster Parent Charged in Child Porn Case

The Chronicle Herald has reported that Roy Franklyn Newcomb has been arrested and charged with possessing and accessing child pornography.

The charges came about after a student at NSCAD (where Newcomb has worked for thirty years) found a USB thumb drive containing pictures and videos apparently depicting child pornography. Police were called in and computer forensics officers uncovered twenty images and nine videos depicting child pornography.

At the time of his arrest Newcomb was a foster parent and apparently has been for many years.

Anyone investigating the foster home?

This immediately raises the question about whether the Department of Community Services, which regulates foster home placements in Nova Scotia, is conducting an investigation. One would hope that all of the former foster children who have been placed in the Newcomb home will be contacted and interviewed as part of a wider investigation.

The foster child who was in the Newcomb home at the time of Newcomb’s arrest has been removed from the home. A court order forbids Newcomb from being within 50 meters of any playground, schoolyard, pool or any other area where children are known to frequent. He is also prohibited from having contact with any children under the age of 16 unless the child is with a parent or guardian and he is prohibited from using any device that has internet access.