A 31-year-old former dean’s assistant at St. Charles North High School has a December trial date scheduled on charges he sexually assaulted and abused a 17-year-old female student.
A Kane County judge has ordered a jury trial beginning Dec. 5 for Christopher Lee, who was arrested and charged in May 2015. In addition to sex assault and abuse, Lee is accused of sending explicit photos to the teen. He has denied the charges and remains free on bond.
School officials and authorities responded to a tip about a possible inappropriate relationship between a staff member and a student in early 2015. During subsequent interviews with investigators, Lee revealed, among other things, that the pair exchanged racy text messages with Lee listed in the teen’s phone under a different name; they kissed in a school stairwell outside the view of surveillance cameras; and, according to Lee, they had sex at his apartment in St. Charles. Lee acknowledged during the interview to knowing the student was 17 years old, court documents show.
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Lee was quickly fired by the St. Charles school board after his arrest. He was cleared twice previously of claims he had an improper relationship with a student during his time at the school that began in 2013 and included a stint coaching a girls basketball team, records state.
Earlier this year, Lee unsuccessfully sought to assert a “mistake-of-age” defense, but that motion was denied.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter