A young woman charged in connection with sexual assaults against children appeared in court in Orillia today.
Kathryn Thompson is one of three young adults facing a long list of charges in a case that's shocking in the scope and nature of the alleged crimes.
Thompson, 19, and her co-accused Shayne Lund, 22, and Avery Taylor, 20, have been charged with a long list of very serious crimes.
Those alleged crimes include sexual assault; making, possessing and distributing child pornography; conspiring to administer a noxious substance; and even bestiality. And officials allege they happened this past summer, mainly in Orillia.
All three are former Twin Lakes Secondary School students. They are all being held in custody, but today Thompson was in the courtroom as lawyers planned her next court date.
Her mother watched the proceedings.
Thompson's lawyer Angela McLeod says mother and daughter are not allowed to speak to each other.
“She is currently not permitted to communicate with her parents, she's 19, she's in solitary confinement, she's isolated, her mother attended today simply to be able to look at her daughter,” McLeod says. “She's not allowed to attend the jail anymore and when Kathryn came into the courtroom and saw her mom, she became quite upset.”
A publication ban prevents more about the nature of the crimes, or who the victims are, from being reported.
CTV tried again today to get an interview with the OPP about this case, but they would not go on camera, saying only that the investigation is ongoing.
Lund is the son of an OPP officer.
Right now the three accused are being treated as separate cases, though Thompson's lawyer says the crown may ask to try them altogether.
The crown has also raised the possibility of asking for dangerous offender status for all three, if they are found guilty.
Thompson won’t appear in court again for two months. Taylor and Lund have separate court appearances two weeks from now.
