New round of sex-related charges for Raleigh used-car dealer

A used-car dealer was arrested Wednesday on sex and kidnapping charges, the third time in less than two months that police have charged him as a result of accusations about behavior with customers.

Thomas Jefferson Lynn, 63, of 1520 Crenshaw Point in Wake Forest, was arrested at 3020 Hillsborough St., his Freedom Auto Sales car lot.

In addition to charges involving new accusations from 2010 and 2013, police charged Lynn with prostitution for what they said was trading repairs on a Dodge Magnum on Wednesday for a sexual act.

An arrest warrant also charged Lynn with second-degree sexual battery Wednesday involving a woman.

The other new charges were second-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual offense in March 2010.

The new 2013 charges were sexual battery involving rubbing a woman’s body and filing a false police report. Police said Lynn reported a car had been stolen when he knew he had sold it five months earlier.

The complainants in those cases contacted police after seeing news reports of the earlier arrests, police spokeswoman Laura Hourigan said.

Police had charged Lynn on Feb. 27 with sexual battery based on actions that complainants said happened in December 2013.

After published reports of that arrest, five women contacted police, and detectives arrested Lynn on March 13 on accusations stemming from 2013 and 2014, police spokesman Jim Sughrue said. Those charges included sexual battery, assault on a female and solicitation for prostitution.

Lynn was held in lieu of $250,000 bail for a Thursday court appearance.

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 7:40 AM with the headline "New round of sex-related charges for Raleigh used-car dealer."