On May 8, 2023, Arapahoe County Judge Eric B. White sentenced Kenneth Dean Lee, 66, to 40 years in prison for his latest assault involving a young child.
On December 9, 2021, officers in Aurora were dispatched to an apartment complex on N. Chester Street to investigate a suspicious case where a man knocked on the door, identified himself as an Immigration Official and entered the apartment without permission.
Two adults and a 7-year-old child were inside the home and they told investigators the “Immigration Official” demanded he speak with the 7-year-old alone in her bedroom.
The victim’s mother said the man was in the bedroom with her daughter for approximately 5 minutes before walking out of the apartment and leaving in an unmarked Minivan. After the man left, the mother asked her daughter what happened and the daughter indicated she had been sexually assaulted.
Surveillance video obtained from the complex showed a man fitting the description of the suspect getting into a Dodge Grand Caravan. Officers ran the plates and the vehicle came back to Kenneth Lee, a sexually violent predator with a history of molesting children who was currently on parole for a nearly identical crime from 2010. Lee had a GPS ankle monitor which confirmed he was at the apartment complex on the same day and time the assault occurred.
Lee pleaded guilty to the following charges:
Sex Assault on a Child (Class 4 Felony)
Burglary (Class 3 Felony)
Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Class 3 Felony)
“Based on the facts surrounding this case and previous criminal cases, this defendant targeted immigrant and refugee families and victimized women and children who had no idea they were letting a dangerous predator into their homes,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Dawson said. “I can only hope this new prison sentence will actually keep Mr. Lee behind bars for the rest of his life so he will not be able to victimize anyone else in our community.”
Lee’s criminal history:
2010:
In this case, Lee went to a 9-year-old Vietnamese victim’s home and told her family he was with Immigration Services and needed to talk with the victim. He entered the home, took the victim to her bedroom and sexually assaulted her.
2011:
In this case, Lee called the home of a 12-year-old Vietnamese victim and told her he was a doctor and needed to perform an exam. The victim advised Lee her mother was asleep and asked him to call back later. Lee waited until the victim’s mother left the house and then knocked on the door and asked the victim to let him inside to perform the exam. The victim let Lee into her home where Lee reportedly assaulted the young girl. In a second separate crime filed in the same case, Lee called the home of a 22-year old Vietnamese victim, and performed the same ruse, posing as an immigration doctor and then sexually assaulting the woman.
2014:
Lee was sentenced in both of the above cases on November 26, 2014. A breakdown of each sentence is included below.
2010CR2498 (all counts are concurrent):
Kidnapping: 23 years in DOC
Burglary: 15 years in DOC
Sex Assault on a Child: 6 years to life
Criminal Impersonation: 3 years in DOC
Invasion of Privacy: 12 months in County Jail
False Imprisonment: 12 months in County Jail
2011CR1428 (all counts concurrent with the 2010 case):
Kidnapping: 10 years in DOC
Kidnapping: 10 years in DOC
2020:
In April 2020, DOC records show Lee was released on parole.
2021:
18-months after Lee was released on parole from the Department of Corrections, he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 7-year-old victim. (2021CR2778)
2023:
The defendant is formally sentenced in the 2021 case to the following:
Burglary: 20 years in DOC (consecutive)
Sexual Exploitation of a Child: 20 years in DOC (consecutive)
Sexual Assault of a Child: Minimum of 10 years of Sex Offender Supervision if released
“It’s disheartening and appalling when a person convicted of sexually violent crimes gets released after serving a fraction of their sentence,” 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said. “Colorado has a lenient parole system that allowed this dangerous offender to walk out of prison and re-offend. The community deserves accountability and transparency as to how and why a sexually violent predator was set free so early.”