Arapahoe County DA demands state detail decision to parole suspected juvenile sex offender

AURORA | A man arrested this month for allegedly impersonating an immigration official to sexually assault a young girl was out on parole for a similar crime and wearing an ankle monitor when the attack took place, according to court and parole board documents and officials.

“I think we deserve answers from the Department of Corrections, the Parole Board and the Sex Offender Management Board,” 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement to The Sentinel. “I want to know how a convicted sex offender who was found to be a sexually violent predator by the judge was released so early and apparently without adequate monitoring.

“These victims and their families, and every parent, deserve to know what DOC and the Parole Board are doing to prevent something like this from happening in the future,” Kellner said.

In a statement to The Sentinel state parole officials said the allegations were “gut-wrenching,” but added that Lee’s parole came after nearly 10 years in prison and after a lengthy and comprehensive process to determine eligibility.

“This is extremely gut wrenching as this deranged individual preyed on vulnerable individuals,” the statement to The Sentinel and other local media said.  “When this was reviewed by the board the individual was participating in offense specific treatment, had met the criteria required to be considered for parole, and medical professionals believed he was at low risk to society to reoffend.” 

An arrest affidavit alleges that Kenneth Dean Lee, 65, arrived at an Aurora apartment on Dec. 9 and entered uninvited after identifying himself as an immigration official. He said that he was there to speak to a 7-year-old girl, whom he asked for by name. He then requested to talk to her in a bedroom. Once in the bedroom, Lee made the girl take off her clothes and sexually assaulted her and then abruptly left the house after about five minutes, according to the affidavit.

Lee drove his own car to the girl’s house, and GPS from an ankle monitor he was wearing, part of his parole agreement, placed him at the scene, the affidavit said. The victim also picked him out of a photo line-up.

Lee was arrested Dec. 10 and is facing charges of first-degree burglary, a Class 3 felony, and sexual assault on a child, a class 4 felony. The case is being prosecuted by the Arapahoe County DA’s office.

According to online records, Lee is currently being held in Arapahoe County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond.

The affidavit noted that while researching Lee’s previous criminal history, investigators found he was listed as a “violent sexual predator” and had been convicted for two similar sexual assaults.

Lee was sentenced in 2014 to 23 years in prison for an assault on the child of a Vietnamese immigrant family. According to an affidavit, Lee identified himself as a doctor from an immigration agency, asked to privately examine a 9-year-old girl, and then sexually assaulted her.

State parole officials said in statements that Lee had served 9.5 years of his sentence before being paroled in January 2020 for life.

State Parole Board Vice Chairperson Chad Dilworth said  the parole decision was made on its merits of the parole case and “had nothing to do with the pandemic.”

State officials said sexual offender convicts are scored on the following criteria to be eligible for parole consideration. Lee’s parole was approved in part based on meeting these and other requirements:

• Is actively engaged in maintenance sex offender treatment that specifically relates to their dynamic risk factors.

• Has completed a disclosure of their offense related sexual history relevant to identified risk areas as verified through either the sexual history polygraph process, or other clinical indicators.

• Has developed a plan to manage ongoing risk factors and treatment needs specific to recommended level of treatment.

•  Has presented an approved risk management plan through the (parole) disclosure session.

• At this time, inmate has demonstrated their ability to manage their identified risk areas as verified by clinical indicators.

• If inmate has not been prescribed psychiatric medications, they do not fall under the CDOC psychiatric recommendations for medication which may enhance his ability to benefit from sex offense-specific treatment.

• At the current time, inmate does not display attitudes, behaviors or risk factors that present an undue risk to the community.  Examples may include, but are not limited to, high degrees of traits associated with psychopathy, sadism, and static and dynamic factors or responsivity needs elevated to an unmanageable level.

Lee “also scored in low range to re-offend,” officials said in the statement. That criteria was not  immediately available.

While the 2014 case was being prosecuted, Lee was charged for another incident from 1996 that had gone cold in the intervening years. According to an affidavit, Lee entered the home of a 12-year-old victim while her mother was gone, claimed to be a doctor who needed to do an exam, and sexually assaulted her. He was charged with two counts of kidnapping and sentenced to 10 years in prison to run concurrently with his sentence from the 2010 assault.

According to an affidavit, during one police interview, Lee said that he had committed at least eight assaults using the same method. A news release from the Aurora Police Department encouraged people to come forward if they have information about similar crimes.

“It is believed that Lee has specifically targeted immigrant and refugee families to perpetrate his alleged crimes,” the release said. “The Aurora Police Department wants residents to know that anybody in the City of Aurora, regardless of their immigration status, should feel safe reporting crimes and reported allegations will be taken seriously.”

Details surrounding Lee’s parole were not available at press time. 

APD’s non-emergency dispatch can be reached at 303-627-3100.