A New York pub owner is facing felony charges accusing him of sexually assaulting two women on Christmas Eve inside his bar. Video of the one of the assaults was posted on Facebook and Snapchat.
Bob Champlin, the owner of Lloyd’s Limited Pub in Penn Yan, New York, in the Finger Lakes region south of Rochester, is being charged after an investigation into the video and sexual assaults, WROC-TV reports.
During the investigation into the video, police learned that a second woman was also sexually assaulted at the bar. Champlin, 61, will also face charges in that case, WROC reports. The incidents happened between late Christmas Eve night and early Christmas morning, according to police.
Champlin has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, the Yates County District Attorney said. He was also charged with unlawfully dealing with a child because one of the victims was under the age of 21 and was served alcohol, authorities said.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Graphic Video Shows the Victim Being Sexually Assaulted on Top of the Bar While Unconscious, Police Say
Bob Champlin.
The graphic video shows a woman being sexually assaulted on top of the bar at Lloyd’s Limited Pub, according to WROC-TV. The woman is unconscious, the news station reports. It was posted to Snapchat and to Facebook, but has since been deleted from social media. Police say the man seen in the video is Bob Champlin.
“The Penn Yan Police Department is aware of and is investigating an alleged sexual abuse incident that occurred at Lloyd’s Limited Pub” between Christmas Eve and the early morning hours of Christmas,” Chief Thomas Dunham told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on Wednesday. Dunham said they received information via social media “of a video taken inside” the 3 Main Street bar and found that it showed a possible sexual assault. Dunham said they seized the video and interviewed witnesses.
Penn Yan Police say Bob Champlin, owner of “Lloyd’s Limited: A Pub” is now person of interest in Penn Yan sexual assault investigation underway. Video allegedly shows Champlin assaulting an intoxicated woman at the bar.
According to WHEC-TV, the bar closed at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The bar’s owner, Bob Champlin, and another man were inside the bar with two women, the news station reports.
“In the video, the victim appears to be unconscious on the bar and, while she’s assaulted, another woman is recording video on her cell phone,” according to WHEC. The video was later shared on Facebook and spread quickly through Penn Yan, with hundreds of people seeing what happened.
“I was just heartbroken, I was so surprised that such a thing like that would happen,” resident Joan Hanson-Eldred told WHEC.
Angel Neal told the news station, “All the sudden, it’s all over Facebook and people are private messaging this horrendous video and we’re in a small town, everybody knows everybody. Everybody knew everybody involved so it was shocking to say the least.”
Dunham, the police chief, said the 40-second video, is “disturbing, it’s disturbing footage for sure.”
2. The Woman Who Filmed the Incident & Posted It to Facebook Was Also Sexually Assaulted,
Surveillance Video Showed
The Penn Yan police chief tells me 3 of the 4 people in the bar that night are cooperating with the investigation. The only one who won’t answer questions is owner, Bob Champlin. He has retained an attorney. @news10nbc
The woman who filmed the incident and posted it to Facebook was also sexually assaulted later in the night, WROC-TV reports. Police learned of the second sexual assault while reviewing security camera footage from the bar.
Penn Yan Police Chief Thomas Dunham told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on Wednesday that investigators had seized equipment from the bar and were applying for a search warrant to view the surveillance video.
“Officers have since applied for a warrant to view the footage contained on the equipment that was seized,” he told the newspaper. He said, they expected “to see the entirety of the the night’s events from that footage.”
The two victims and the other man who was in the bar with Champlin have been interviewed by police, according to WHEC. But Champlin had not been cooperating with the investigation.
“It looks like the people involved in this were intoxicated, and I know there’s been a lot of blowback on the individual for not stepping in,” Dunham told WHAM-TV. “There’s not audio with it, so we don’t know what was being said at the time.”
3. The Victim Says She Doesn’t ‘Understand a Lot’ of What Happened & Was Horrified WHen She Saw the Video
Bob Champlin.
Brianna Champlin, the woman seen being sexually assaulted in the video, is Bob Champlin’s cousin. She told WROC-TV that she saw the video for the first time the morning after the incident and turned it off after watching a few seconds because she was horrified by what she saw.
“I just don’t understand a lot from that night I don’t understand why he thought that was okay,” Brianna Champlin told the news station.
“My cousin owns the bar, so I went in there and had a beer with him,” she told the news station on Wednesday. “I really don’t remember much.”
Many, including Brinna Champlin, have called for the woman who recorded the video and posted it to social media to also face charges, but police said there are currently no plans to charge her, WROC-TV reports.
“I don’t understand why she videotaped and it didn’t stop it or wake me up or something,” Brianna Champlin told the news station.
Neal, who runs the diner next store to Lloyd’s, told WHEC-TV, “Somebody’s taping it, people are watching this — why did not anyone step in, that’s disturbing to me.”
Heavy is not identifying the second woman because police now say she is also a victim of sexual assault. The identity of the other man in the bar is not known. It is not clear if he is being investigated in connection to the incidents.
4. Champlin, Who Pleaded Not Guilty & Was Held on $50,000 Bail, Faces up to 20 Years in Prison on the Most Serious Charge
Bob Champlin at Lloyd’s Limited.
Robert “Bob” Champlin turned himself in to face the felony charges on Thursday, and was then arraigned at the local courthouse at 1 p.m., WROC-TV reports.
Champlin and his attorney did not comment. He is being held on $50,000 cash bail and is due back in court on January 2.
Bob Champlin, owner of Lloyd’s Limited Pub is Arraigned in Penn Yan Village Court on a Felony Charge. Held on $50,000 bail. @SPECNewsROC
His attorney told the judge that Champlin has voluntarily entered rehab for alcohol addiction.
Bob Champlin is currently being arraigned in Penn Yan court. His attorney just told the judge he has voluntarily entered rehab for alcohol addiction. @news10nbc
He faces up to 20 years in prison on the most serious charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
It is not clear if Champlin has a previous criminal record in New York, but he does have a record in Florida. Champlin was convicted of driving under the influence in 1995 in Brevard County, according to online court records. He was sentenced to probation on the second-degree misdemeanor, which ended in 1999. He was arrested in West Melbourne, Florida.
5. He Has Owned the Bar Since 1999
Lloyd’s Limited a Pub in Penn Yan, New York.
Bob Champlin has owned the bar since 1999, when he took it over from longtime owners Warren and Amy Lloyd, according to the Finger Lakes Times. Champlin is a Penn Yan native who worked at bars and restaurants in Rochester before returning home to take over the pub.
“I think this building dates back to 1867, and there is quite a history here,” Champlin told the Finger Lake Times in 2012. “There was a lot that happened here. This is definitely a place you can bring the whole family to. I’ve never had a fight here.”
Champlin said the bar has gained popularity outside of Penn Yan.
“You can go to a lot of places and see Lloyd’s Limited T-shirts out there,” he told the newspaper during the 2012 interview. “I was in Phoenix visiting my brother one time, and I was at the airport and saw a guy running across the airport with a Lloyd’s T-shirt on. That was great.”
Bob Champlin.
The bar has been closed since Christmas Eve and the state Liquor Authority has launched an investigation. Protesters with signs reading “Every dollar spent here supports a sexual assault,” gathered outside the bar on Wednesday, according to FingerLakes1.com.
Protestors have showed up — screaming “shut them down” in front of Lloyd’s Limited Pub. The owner has been named a Person of Interest in a sex abuse case. @13WHAM
A petition calling for the bar to be shut down has received more than 1,300 signatures.
“A despicable act of sexual assault has taken place at Lloyd’s Limited pub at the hands of it’s owner, Bob Champlin. The bartender recorded the entire thing, and then the video was posted on Facebook for hundreds to see,” the creator of the petition wrote. “It is not the first time this man has preyed on girls, and it won’t be the last. In fact, investigators say that the bartender who took the video was assaulted herself later in the evening.
“Please do your part to assure that Champlin is held accountable for this. He may face felony charges, but he should also no longer be allowed to operate a business. Sign this petition to demand that Lloyd’s is shut down. This petition is just the beginning, and I will not stop until something has been done,” the petition states.
