Three young people charged in connection with a large scale sex offence were back in a Barrie court on Friday. It’s the first time all three accused have appeared in court at the same time.
It was a tense mood in court as Shayne Lund, Avery Taylor, and Kathryn Thompson appeared separately. Family members of the accused and some of the victims were present – many of them fighting back tears during the proceedings.
Lund, Taylor and Thompson are now formally jointly accused – meaning from now on they will be dealt with together even though the three don’t all face the same type and number of charges.
The charges center on alleged crimes against children – that include sexual assault, sexual interference, bestiality, administering a noxious substance and making child pornography.
Friday was the first day of what the court calls a pre-judicial trial. This means all lawyers spoke with a judge in closed chambers to figure out where the case is going. The next step is setting a date for a preliminary hearing – a potential six-week process that lawyers say will probably not happen until the late fall.
“It’s not a trial, the client does not say if they are guilty or not guilty. They are not asked how to plead but the crown is required to call evidence to justify to the court why the matter should go forward to a Superior court trial,” says Avery Taylor’s lawyer Mel Malik.
“We take, as I say, the position that she too is a victim and my long-term goal is that comes out of the evidence that she too is seen as Avery Taylor that they are victims of Shayne Lund and anything they were involved in, if anything, it was at his behest because they are his victims,” says Kathryn Thompson’s lawyer Angela McLeod.
The judge will continue to meet with the crown and defence lawyers monthly to ensure this process keep moving forward.
The Crown says there are now 120 charges in all and 12 victims. The Crown also says they are still analyzing evidence and all of the lawyers will meet again on February 19th.
CTV News has asked the OPP again to comment on this case and they have still declined an on camera interview. Shayne Lund is the son of an OPP officer.
