An Orillia woman charged with several sex offences involving children was in court again today trying to get bail.
Kathryn Thompson is one of three young adults charged with committing serious crimes against children.
And today was the moment Thompson has been waiting for.
“I’ve got to say I’m really grateful for being here. It’s been a really hard few months,” Thompson told CTV News outside a Newmarket courthouse.
After her arrest in October and six months in protective custody, Thompson walked out of court on bail ready to follow the restrictions imposed by the court.
“Honestly I’m OK with them, like, it doesn’t matter to me,” she says. “Whatever makes the public more comfortable, I’m OK with.”
Thompson is facing 26 charges for alleged sex-related crimes against children. The charges include: making, possessing and distributing child pornography; bestiality; and conspiring to commit other crimes like administering a noxious substance and sexual assault.
Thompson, 19, is charged along with two others: Shayne Lund and Avery Taylor. The three accused face a combined total of more than a 120 charges.
Thompson is the only accused in this case released on bail. The amount was set at $10,000. Avery Taylor was denied bail in the fall, and Shayne Lund has yet to have a bail hearing.
Thompson's lawyer Angela McLeod says the bail conditions placed on her client are strict.
“It really came down the reality of the strength of the plan we proposed today, the quality of the sureties,” she says. “The community should take comfort, as her honour said, the sureties are respectable and responsible people in their community.”
Thompson will have to report to the OPP in Orillia once a week. She won’t be allowed to use a phone or any electronic device that can access the Internet. She must always be accompanied by one of her two sureties; they are parents of one of Thompson's friends.
Essentially she must stay in their home 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If she does have to leave for a doctor’s appointment or meeting with her lawyer, one of the sureties must be with her.
The next court date is scheduled for June, with a preliminary hearing set to begin in the fall. If the case does go to trial, it’s possible it might not even start until 2016.
