One of the accused in a child pornography and sexual assault case will remain behind bars for the time being.
The 19-year-old woman had a hearing today in Barrie court, but will still have to wait to see if she gets bail.
The case is troubling to people who knew the teenager and two other young adults, who’ve all been charged with more than a hundred crimes.
“It is a really messed up story,” says Chelsea Stubbings, a Grade 11 student. “It's like a nightmare, pretty much.”
This case hits close to home for many students in Orillia. Three young adults who went to high school there are facing multiple charges including sexual assault, making child pornography, voyeurism, conspiring to kidnap a child, and bestiality.
“It's pretty serious that children close to our age are doing stuff to children even younger, it's just really screwed up,” says Joey Daniel.
Shayne Lund, 22, Avery Taylor, 20, and 19-year-old Kathryn Thompson are all still in custody. Thompson appeared via video in Barrie court today but hasn’t had her bail hearing yet because her lawyer Angela McLeod is waiting for more information from the Crown attorney.
“The crown has given the defence notice that if Ms. Thompson is convicted for the offences she is accused of they would consider requesting that she be declared a dangerous offender,” says McLeod. “When the stakes are as high as we are being told they are, you want to make sure that you have all your i's dotted and t's crossed and that you are moving forward really understanding the intricacies of the case.”
Some students in Orillia know Thompson and were surprised to hear she had been arrested.
“I was pretty surprised,” says Brittanee Mallon, a Grade 12 student who played sports with Thompson. “I didn't think she would be like that. She knew what's right and what's wrong, so I didn't really know why she would be involved in something like that, because she never seemed like that type of person.”
Some people are asking if there could be more arrests, or if all the victims have been found. So far the OPP is refusing to do any interviews about this case, and will only say the case is still under investigation.
