The teenage boy that Boal Mansion CEO Christopher Lee allegedly tried to molest in June was the son of a close family friend, according to recently unsealed documents.
Lee was arrested on October 2 after a federal grand jury indicted him on felony charges of child pornography and harassment. Lee, CEO of the Boal Mansion and Museum and a Harris Township Supervisor, had allegedly brought minors from overseas with the intent of molesting them.
The affidavit of probable cause filed by the State College Police Department, unsealed on Monday, details the incident that led to Lee’s October arrest. On June 26, police received a report that Lee had allegedly abused a 17-year-old boy from the United Arab Emirates.
The boy was visiting Lee at the Boal Museum without his family for the first time, according to the affidavit. He arrived in State College on June 21 or 22. Lee reportedly picked him up and took the teen to his home at the mansion. On the ride there, Lee reportedly asked probing questions about the boy’s sexuality.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Lee reportedly told the teen he could sleep in his bed. The teen ultimately agreed because he trusted Lee.
Lee then played what the alleged victim described to police as “weird music,” later identified in the affidavit as being a hypnosis video. After the video was over, Lee reportedly began rubbing the boy’s body.
The boy said no and protested Lee’s advances, telling Lee he is not gay, according to the affidavit. Lee reportedly responded that in past history, people were not defined as gay and that all acts were thought of simply as sex. The boy continued to protest.
When Lee allegedly continued to attempt to coerce him into sexual activity, the boy left the room and contacted his relatives. He was able to arrange transportation out of Boalsburg later that day.
According to the affidavit, when Lee asked him why he was leaving, he said something had come up with his father. When Lee pressured him, the boy reportedly said he was leaving because of Lee’s actions in his bedroom.
Lee reportedly told him to stick with the first story about his father, saying, “What happens in Boalsburg stays in Boalsburg.”
On June 30, State College police officers, armed with search warrants, seized two of Lee’s personal computers. They reportedly found images of underage boys and child pornography, prompting the department to request additional search warrants.
Lee was also previously arrested in 2005 on similar charges of indecent assault, though many records relating to this case were sealed and unavailable to the public. Documents recently unsealed show that Lee was charged in 2005 with assault against two boys ages 8 and 10.
The District Attorney at the time, Michael Madeira, enrolled Lee in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program as a result of the 2005 charges. The ARD program is geared toward “treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment” for an alleged crime that is “relatively minor and does not involve a serious breach of the public trust,” according to the Pennsylvania Code.
Documents recently unsealed show that Judge Bradley Lunsford denied Lee’s request to expunge his record in 2008, after Lee had completed the ARD program. Lunsford later allowed records of those charges to be partially expunged in 2009. No explanation is given in the documents to explain the shift in judgment.
Lunsford unsealed the documents detailing the records on October 20. Many details of the case, including the boys’ ages and Lunsford’s involvement, were unavailable prior to the documents being released.
Earlier this month, United States Attorneys Peter Smith and Meredith Taylor also requested that the documents in the ongoing federal case against Lee be made available to the public. Though some documents are still sealed, the original indictment against Lee is now available to the public.
The federal indictment, filed October 1, claims that Lee possessed child pornography of children under 12-years-old. The indictment also claims that Lee coerced a 17-year-old boy into sexual activity, referencing the incident in June.
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