There was a surprising development Monday in the case of three young adults charged with multiple crimes, mostly against young children.
A preliminary hearing has been underway for the three accused, who are all from the Orillia area.
CTV News has learned, the lawyer for one of the accused is now negotiating with the crown to finalize a plea deal.
Shayne Lund, Avery Taylor and Kathryn Thompson are facing more than 80 charges in total, most involving alleged sex crimes against children, and a crown attorney wants them all to be declared dangerous offenders if they're convicted.
According to Angela Macleod, the defence lawyer for Kathryn Thompson, her client will plead guilty to some of the 26 charges she faces.
“The crown and I have come to an agreement that she will enter guilty pleas to somewhere between 10 and 12 counts” Macleod adds. “We are still continuing our negotiations as to which of those 26 she will plead to and the specific facts underlying them, but we have committed to entering guilty pleas to about a dozen charges.”
At the preliminary hearing today in Barrie, Thompson’s lawyers told the judge they don't need to call any more evidence.
Mcleod says the crown may still seek to apply a dangerous or longterm offender status when Thompson is sentenced, and that is something Mcleod intends to fight.
Thompson is currently out on bail, but her lawyer anticipates Thompson will end up serving more time in jail.
“She's been in custody,” says Macleod. “She's currently on very strict house arrest bail, but she has to her credit about a year of pretrial custody, and she will be looking at some additional custody regardless of which of those 12 counts we come to agree she should plea to.”
Shayne Lund's lawyer said today that a guilty plea by Thompson could have serious implications for his client.
Kathryn Thompson won't be back in court until the end of the month.
The preliminary hearing will continue for Shayne Lund and Avery Taylor on Friday.
