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Provo man booked for kidnapping after luring child into his apartment, touching her thigh

Posted at 3:41 PM, Dec 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-14 17:42:18-05

PROVO, Utah — A man has been booked into jail on a charge of child kidnapping after he allegedly lured a juvenile into his apartment, touched her thigh and tried to prevent her from leaving.

According to a statement of probable cause, police responded to the area of 200 South and 400 East in Provo Wednesday on a report of a child being held in an apartment against her will.

The victim, whose age was not listed in the document, told police she had gone to an apartment complex near her home to visit a woman who had suffered a heart attack. The victim said Terry Lee let her into the building and invited her to his apartment to see some Christmas decorations.

The child went with the man, and said once inside his apartment he gave her some money and they sat on the couch together. At that time Lee allegedly began touching the girl’s thigh and her stomach, and she said she wanted to leave.

The girl said Lee grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving, and the door was also locked, which made it harder for her to get away. She slipped her arm out of the coat sleeve the suspect was holding and began kicking the man in the shin until he let her go.

The child fled to her home, and Lee allegedly followed. The girl was yelling for help but didn’t encounter anyone else until arriving home, at which point her father went outside to confront Lee.

Lee was still at the scene when police arrived, and the PC statement says he spoke with police and admitted to having the girl in his apartment and to touching her and hugging her. He also admitted to grabbing her arm in an attempt to prevent her from leaving the apartment, according to the PC statement.

Lee, 66 of Provo, was booked into jail on one count of child kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony.