With trial looming, suspect in Rochester child sex case tries to escape to Canada, prosecutor says

Christopher Lunny (Sanford Police photo)

DOVER - The Springvale man facing a sexual assault trial that begins today had his personal recognizance bail revoked after he tried to flee to Canada over the weekend, the prosecutor in the case said Tuesday.

Christopher Lunny, 44, of 45 Ellsworth St., Springvale, was picked up by U.S. Marshals around 8:15 p.m. on Saturday at his home, as exclusively reported Monday in The Lebanon Voice.

The warrant for his arrest was for default or breach of bail conditions, Sanford Police Deputy Chief Tim Strout said.

Assistant Strafford County Attorney Alysia Cassotis told Judge Steven Houran on Tuesday that Lunny, who had been fitted with a GPS to monitor his movements while out on bail, had been placed Friday afternoon at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth where he tried to get an emergency passport in his brother's name.

He reportedly told the clerk his brother was in Canada and had had a stroke.

When Lunny pressed the clerk that the passport be delivered overnight instead of waiting a couple of days, they did an Internet search on his name and noted the news accounts of his upcoming trial, prompting his arrest on Saturday.

Lunny was arraigned on fugitive from justice charges on Monday in Springvale District Court and returned to New Hampshire where his bail has been revoked.

Lunny was indicted in June 2014 on five counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, a special felony due to the victim's age, which was between 5 and 9 at the time of the incidents. Each count carries a 10-30 year sentence.

Court records allege he engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse of the girl in Rochester between 2004 and 2008, including rape and other various sexual acts.