Christopher Lee, who has been awaiting trial on child sexual coercion charges for nearly a year, has pleaded not guilty to a new set of charges.
The former Boal Mansion Museum CEO was arrested by FBI agents in Boalsburg last October for allegedly bringing a foreign minor into the country with the intent to coerce them into sexual activity, as well as possessing and producing child pornography.
Lee now faces additional charges of transportation, coercion, and enticement of a minor from a second victim who was not part of Lee’s original indictment, but Lee maintains his innocence.
Kyle Rude, Lee’s attorney, said the new charges raise issues he plans to challenge in forthcoming motions.
Rude said that, based on conversation with the second alleged victim and his family, John Doe 2 never testified before the grand jury that issued the second indictment against Lee filed earlier this month.
Rude said he is “confident that new charges would not have been approved by the grand jury” had the alleged victim testified, and said he does not know what evidence the grand jury used to inform their decision because the proceedings are closed to the public.
“Nevertheless, Mr. Lee has now been incarcerated for close to one year. He has repeatedly sought release from pretrial detention. Currently the case is continued indefinitely,” Rude wrote in an e-mail. “Mr. Lee believes that his speedy trial rights have been violated by the delays caused by the Second Superseding Indictment.”
Lee has been repeatedly denied attempts to be released on bail because federal prosecutors have successfully argued that he may pose a flight risk. Lee was supposed to go to trial earlier this month, but the court date was delayed while federal prosecutors make their case that all of Lee’s charges should be tried at once instead of being split into two separate trials.
