DETROIT (WXYZ) — Charles Lee, 57, could be out on parole any day now. He was first sent to prison in 1989 for a gas station armed robbery and rape of the clerk.
Lee was first released on parole 17 years later. After only three months out and while living with his mother, Lee would be charged and convicted of aggravated stalking of a 15-year old girl. Records say he followed the girl to school, approached her at home and tried to get her into his car.
“The aggravated stalking clearly had a sexual component to it,” says Monroe County Prosecutor Michael Roehrig who’s fighting the parole now.
Lee’s case had gone through the Parole Board and was stopped by a Monroe Circuit Judge. The Michigan Court of Appeals now says Lee should be paroled because he’s been through an array of prison rehabilitation programs and is a changed man. The ruling was not unanimous. Both are in this web story.
State officials say Lee completed an array of prison rehabilitation programs. Prosecutor Roehrig is not convinced Lee is a different man... https://t.co/HqBH67mBgH pic.twitter.com/j6FBtu0FqI
— Jim Kiertzner WXYZ (@kiertzner7) February 4, 2020
“No one knows for sure of course, but we certainly have concerns,” Prosecutor Roehrig tells 7 Action News.
Roehrig has a last-ditch appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court but says state laws have changed making that more difficult to win.
If released on parole, Lee would not just live with his mother or family again, he would be under a supervised sex offender program that includes wearing a GPS tether. He has four years left on his prison sentence.
“It is my concern he is a danger to the community,” Roehrig said.
Read the appeal and dissenting ruling below.
Charles Lee Ct of Appeals Ruling by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
Disenting Ruling by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
