Daniel Robert Martell holds photos of his stepchildren Lilly and Jack Sullivan, on May 2, 2025. Mr. Martell has been charged with assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement of an adult, RCMP said Thursday.Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
The stepfather of missing Nova Scotia children Jack and Lilly Sullivan has been charged with assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement of an adult, RCMP said in a statement Thursday.
“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,” RCMP spokesperson Allison Gerrard wrote in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
The alleged crimes took place between Sept. 1, 2024, and March 30, 2025, in Lansdowne, N.S., according to court documents.
The Globe is not naming the alleged victim. Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service spokeswoman JoAnn Alberstat wrote in an e-mail that it is likely the Crown will seek a publication ban on the identity of the victim, which is standard in sexual-assault cases.
Mr. Martell did not respond to repeated requests for comment. He has been released from custody on conditions, including no contact with the alleged victim, the court documents said. He also must advise RCMP of any change in address or employment. He is due in Pictou Provincial Court on March 2.
While the charges are not directly related to the intensive major-crime investigation into what happened to Jack and Lilly, Mr. Martell has been in the spotlight in coverage of the case. He has continuously spoken out in the media to raise awareness about the children and to defend himself from what he says are attacks meant to make him look bad.
Jack, left, and Lilly Sullivan were reported missing on May 2, 2025.HO/The Canadian Press
Nearly nine months have passed since Mr. Martell and the children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, reported them missing from home.
On the morning of May 2, 2025, Ms. Brooks-Murray marked them absent from school for a second day in a row. Around 10 a.m., she called 911 to report they had wandered off while she and their stepfather Mr. Martell had been dozing in bed with their toddler at home in the remote hamlet of Lansdowne.
A massive search led by RCMP turned up few clues, apart from a child-sized boot print and Lilly’s pink blanket found in a tree about a kilometre from the home.
RCMP have been tight-lipped about the case; however, they recently explained that the large volume of information they’ve gathered is helping form pictures of what may have taken place, and they are focused on gathering forensic evidence.
Staff Sergeant Rob McCamon, the acting officer in charge of Major Crime and Behavioural Science, said in December that investigators are still following up on the more than 1,000 tips they received and are confident that, in time, the case will be resolved.
Both parents have denied any involvement in the children’s disappearance.
In an interview earlier this month, Mr. Martell said he believes Jack and Lilly are still alive and he is hopeful for their safe return.
“All I know is at this point, I don’t believe they went into the woods and I can’t tell you where they are because I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve ran over every location with investigators, every person who could’ve possibly had contact with them over the last couple years, it’s just mind-draining.”