East Algoma OPP has charged Stephen Robert Lynn, 48, of Elliot Lake, with seven counts of sexual assault, four counts of indecent acts, two counts of indecent acts with a child under 14, and four counts of breaching a prohibition order.Lynn was arrested without incident in Elliot Lake, about 540 km from Toronto, last Tuesday.
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
.........Sarah Tofte
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Here is the text of the entire article on Stephen Robert Lynn:
Former kids magician facing sex charges
Man pleaded guilty to 2003 charges
From the Elliot Lake Standard
A former Elmvale man who used to be hired out as a magician to children’s parties — and was convicted in 2004 for sexually assaulting five young boys in that area, and also did time in a California jail in the 1980s — faces similar charges now in Northern Ontario.
East Algoma OPP has charged Stephen Robert Lynn, 48, of Elliot Lake, with several sexual offences involving a child.
Lynn has been charged with seven counts of sexual assault, four counts of indecent acts, two counts of indecent acts with a child under 14, and four counts of breaching a prohibition order by attending swimming pools.
Lynn’s brother, reached Monday afternoon at his home in Elmvale, north of Barrie, politely declined to comment.
East Algoma OPP officers are searching for more potential victims in the case, but few details are being released regarding the investigation.
Police said Lynn was arrested without incident on an Elliot Lake street around 9 a.m., on Sept. 15. When he saw the cruiser behind his vehicle, authorities said Lynn pulled over and surrendered to police.
“He didn’t attempt to get away,” said community services officer and Special Constable Christine Ouimet on Monday from the East Algoma OPP detachment in Elliot Lake.
A complaint was lodged with police on Sept. 13, from a person under 14 years old. The alleged sexual assault happened at a public pool, Ouimet said.
Provincial police say there could be similar allegations in other areas of Northern Ontario.
“Mr. Lynn did travel,” Ouimet said. “There may be more potential victims.”
Police had no information that Lynn was still working as a magician.
Lynn is being held in custody in Sault Ste. Marie and has waived his right to a bail hearing, which Ouimet said is not unusual.
Lynn was scheduled for a bail hearing Tuesday at the Sault Ste. Marie courthouse.
The investigation is ongoing.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
While living in the Barrie area, Lynn worked under the name Mr. Magic as a full-time illusionist and magician.
Barrie police launched an investigation in 2003 after receiving several complaints. He was initially charged with 49 sex-related offences.
In June 2004, he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexually assaulting boys between the ages of nine and 13 years old on multiple occasions between 1996 and 2001. With the guilty plea, the victims did not have to testify.
Lynn was sentenced to one year in prison, on top of time served in pretrial custody, as well as two years probation. He also received a five-year ban from areas that may put him in a position of trust with a person under 14, such as a public swimming pool.
In 2004, the court heard that Lynn befriended boys and fondled them in pools.
His magician’s assistant, who was 11 years old when the assaults started, provided a victim impact statement saying he still suffered from the experience, including anger issues and being suspended from school.
“I don’t like to think about what happened to me and I am afraid I will see him when he gets out of jail,” the boy wrote. “I don’t feel right with the guys who were my friends ... (and) my mom feels guilty that she went to work and was away too much for us kids.”
In a separate preliminary hearing in 2004, Lynn was acquitted on similar sexual assault charges against about a dozen other boys. The judge ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to go to trial.
Lynn worked at several events in the Barrie area, including a variety of fundraisers.
“Mr. Lynn’s line of work gave him much exposure to children,” the judge said in 2004. “But childhood should be a time full of fun and laughter, not a world where they are subjected to this kind of conduct.”
In 1984, Lynn was convicted of sexual offences against another group of boys, and was sentenced to eight years in a California prison.
This case is really sad....for the kids involved. The truth is that Lynn spent a number of years in a California prison for his crimes against children. He was deported back to Canada after his release. He immediately got involved with children with his magician job. How in the world did the Canadian legal system not know about him? And how when he was convicted, again, in Canada, did the system not take into account his previous convictions in California? When he was in the Barrie area, I personally wrote to places where he was preforming, warning them about him, yet, nothing was done. The system has let down the children. This guy is a repeat offender that should be put away and not turned loose again on society.
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