The stepfather of missing Nova Scotia children Jack and Lilly Sullivan has been charged with assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement of an adult, say RCMP in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

“We can confirm that on January 26, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Pictou County District RCMP arrested 34-year-old Daniel Robert Martell of Lansdowne,” wrote RCMP spokesperson Allison Gerard in a statement to The Globe and Mail. “The charges involve an adult victim.”

What happened to Jack, 4, and Lilly, 6, has been the focus of an intensive RCMP major crime investigation for nearly nine months after their parents reported them missing from home on the morning of May 2.

Mr. Martell was not immediately available for comment. He has been released from custody on condition and is due in Pictou Provincial Court on March 2.