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PROVO — A 66-year-old man is facing a child kidnapping charge after police say he lured a 10-year-old girl into his apartment last week.
Provo police detective Nick Dupaix said the girl went to the Maeser School Apartments, 460 E. 200 South, to visit a neighborhood friend Wednesday. As she approached the entrance of the building, she was met by Terry Edwin Lee.
"Terry Lee invited her into his apartment to show her some Christmas decorations and gave her a little bit of money," Dupaix said.
Apparently, the girl knew Lee. "He lived in her neighborhood, and so I imagine that it wasn't something that she expected," Dupaix said.
Once the girl was inside Lee's apartment, Dupaix said Lee "locked the door to the apartment, had her sit on the couch, and then he started making physical advancements towards her."
Arresting documents say Lee started to touch the girl on the leg and stomach, but she resisted immediately.
"The 10-year-old girl got freaked out by this and tried getting away," Dupaix said. "But Terry grabbed her by the arm, trying to prevent her from leaving."
The girl continued to struggle. "After the girl kicked him a couple of times, she ended up getting out of the building and Terry continued to follow her," Dupaix said.
The detective said the girl ran down the street, screaming the whole way.
"When she finally got home, she yelled for her dad. And her dad came out and confronted Terry and told Terry to leave his daughter alone," Dupaix said.
The girl's father called police, and Lee was subsequently arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping. In his first court appearance Tuesday, Lee was formally charged with the crime.
As for the 10-year-old girl, Dupaix said she did exactly what she should have done — and it likely prevented something much worse from happening.
"She reacted phenomenally, just doing whatever she could to get out," he said.
While it can be difficult to have a conversation about kidnapping prevention, Dupaix said it is something all parents should talk about with their children.
