Auburn middle school wrestling coach charged with sex crimes

The head wrestling coach at Auburn’s Olympic Middle School has been charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly sent sexual text messages to a 14-year-old girl.

On April 17, Daniel Ralph Lee, 64, was charged with two counts of communications with a minor for immoral purposes, first-degree possession of depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and first-degree viewing depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to charging documents, Lee communicated with a 14-year-old girl, eventually began to speak to her sexually, and asked for nude photos and received them.

Lee, as of April 18, is in custody at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on a $150,000 bail. He was booked April 15 into the jail. His next court hearing is an arraignment on May 1 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle.

Charging documents

According to documents, on April 3, the girl disclosed to a teacher at Olympic Middle School, 839 21st St. SE, that she had been communicating with the head wrestling coach, and the communication became sexual in nature. Documents state that the girl is a student who was part of the wrestling team, and Lee had been the head coach of the wrestling team for multiple seasons.

Documents state that the teacher, whom the student informed about the incident, notified the school principal, who made a call to 911 to report the case to the police. The girl’s mother was then informed about what had been reported.

Documents state that a child forensic interviewer interviewed the girl. According to documents, the girl said that she had met Lee at a wrestling event earlier this year, and after the two began talking more, Lee gave her his phone number.

Documents state that the student said that at first they only texted about wrestling-related topics, but the conversations soon became personal. According to documents, the girl said that she told Lee that she was going to sneak out of her house, to which Lee said that if he saw her, he would come up and kiss her. According to documents, the girl said she thought Lee’s comment was weird, but she had liked it because Lee would give her praise and attention.

According to documents, the student said that Lee was on the touchy side and would often give her and others hugs at wrestling events. Documents state that the girl said that Lee once kissed her on the forehead at a wrestling event, and he would openly do these things in front of others.

According to documents, when officers searched through the girl’s phone, they found that the text conversations began on March 27 and ended on April 4. According to documents, the texts showed that after communication became personal, the student and Lee began to text that they loved each other and used heart emojis.

According to documents, Lee told the girl that he could be trusted and that he had formed a special bond with her. Documents state that in one instance, Lee told the student that he wanted to kiss her very deeply.

Documents state that Lee then began to ask the girl sexual questions, and asked her to do sexual things over the phone, to which she said she was not comfortable, and he eventually asked her to send him nude photos. Documents state that after the girl had sent Lee nude photos and a video of her nude, he reacted positively. Documents state that Lee told the student that he was honored that she had sent him nude photos, and that she must really trust him.

According to documents, Lee was arrested by Auburn Police in Maple Valley during a traffic stop without incident. Documents state that after Miranda Rights were read, Lee agreed to speak with the police.

Documents state that Lee admitted to communicating with the girl and to knowingly receiving and viewing sexually explicit material from her. Documents state that Lee said he knew he had said some inappropriate things, but he felt flattered that a 14-year-old female showed him explicit photos and he liked the attention.