A second accused has pleaded guilty in a Barrie courtroom on Wednesday in connection to alleged sex crimes against children.
Avery Taylor pleaded guilty to 10 charges. Her co-accused, Kathryn Thompson pleaded guilty last month to 11 charges, she had been facing 26.
In a long and explicit statement read by the Crown, Thompson admitted to numerous crimes, including making, possessing and distributing child pornography, conspiring to commit sexual assault and committing bestiality.
Amongst her admissions, she said she texted about drugging and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old. Her admissions also included texting plans to drug and sexually assault an adult, recording a 12-year-old in the nude, and possessing pornographic photos of a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old. She also admitted that she wanted to see another person having sex with a four-year-old.
All of this happened in the summer of 2013, mostly in Orillia.
Thompson wept as she sat next to her lawyer and listened to the Crown read out her admissions. A publication ban is in effect on some details.
The court also heard that after Shayne Lund, one of the co-accused, was arrested in September of 2013, Thompson phoned his father, an OPP officer, on two occasions. In early October, Thompson was arrested and investigators discovered that a great deal of material had been erased from her cell phone and laptop.
For now Thompson remains out on bail. Her co-accused, Taylor, is also expected to enter an agreed statement of fact and admission of her crimes. She remains in custody, as does Lund.
All three will be back in court on Thursday. The preliminary hearing isn't over for Lund. Taylor and Thompson are expected to present evidence now in that hearing.
The Crown also wants Taylor and Thompson to be designated as long-term offenders. Those hearings on will happen at a future date, as will sentencing for them.
