Tim Bachman, founding member of BTO who faced sex charges later in life, dies

Tim Bachman, a founding member of the Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive who faced sex charges in two separate cases later in his life, has died.

The guitarist and singer’s death was confirmed by his brother Randy Bachman through his manager on Sunday.

Tim Bachman was acquitted in 2013 in a case that involved a minor, and charges were stayed in 2015 in a separate case that did not make it to trial.

His son, Paxton Bachman, posted on Facebook that his father died Friday. He said he received a call last week from the care home where his father was staying, telling him that his dad’s condition had worsened.

He added that tests revealed cancer throughout his brain.

Tim Bachman was part of Winnipeg-based BTO during its early rise, playing on the band’s debut album released in early 1973 and its followup “Bachman-Turner Overdrive II” which arrived later that same year.

The latter album delivered some of the band’s best-known hits in the U.S. and Canada, including singles “Let it Ride” and “Takin’ Care of Business,” on which Tim Bachman sang backing vocals.

While he formally left the band in 1974 and worked for years as a realtor in Abbotsford, B.C., Bachman rejoined for later reunion tours.

In 2010, police charged him with sex offences involving a minor, of which he was later found not guilty.

The trial involved testimony from Stacy Bohun, who alleged that Bachman would grope her when she was a foster child living in his Fraser Valley home. The alleged incidents occurred from 2000 to 2004.

Bohun requested during the trial that a publication ban on her name be lifted.

In his 2013 ruling, a judge said Bohun’s testimony was unreliable because of inconsistencies in her statements over the years. He noted that he did not find her to be a “deliberately dishonest witness” but that the evidence was not enough to rest a criminal conviction upon and left reasonable doubt.

Bachman faced another series of unrelated sex charges a year later when Abbotsford police said another person came forward with a complaint related to alleged incidents that happened in the 1990s.

The allegations led to charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. Those charges were stayed in late 2015, according to a report in the Abbotsford News.

Tim Bachman’s other credits with BTO included co-writing several songs, including “Down and Out Man,” “Blown” and “I Don’t Have to Hide.”

His death follows that of his brother Robbie Bachman, another founder of the band, in January at 69 years old.

“I’ve lost my three brothers in the past couple of years,” Randy Bachman told The Canadian Press in a statement.

“My heart is heavy and l keep flashing back to yesteryears and the happy days growing up in Winnipeg.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2023.

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