New Charges for Former High School Student Charged in Palos Hills Sex Assault: COPS

PALOS HILLS, IL -- New charges have been filed against a former Palos Hills high school student already accused last fall of kidnapping and holding a gun to a woman as he forced her into giving him oral sex. Palos Hills police say new evidence has linked the now 18-year-old suspect to two other cases in which women were grabbed at gunpoint and taken to remote locations where both were allegedly robbed.

The juvenile suspect, identified as Yaki Lee Jr. from an earlier bond court hearing, was 17 and a high school student when he allegedly slipped into the back seat of a Palos Hills woman’s vehicle on Sept. 9, 2016 as she parked her car in front of her home in the 10000 block of South Walnut Terrace. Prosecutors said Lee held a 9mm Glock to the woman’s head and forced her to drive to a remote area near 99th Street and 84th Avenue where he sexually assaulted her. He then made her drive him to another grassy area, where police said he stole her purse but left her keys outside her car. When the woman was sure he was gone, she found her keys and drove to a nearby gas station where she called for help.

Lee was arrested on Nov. 9, 2016 and charged as an adult after composite sketches of the suspect had been widely circulated on social media. Lee was charged as an adult with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated armed robbery. His bail was set at $300,000.

>>> High School Student Charged in Palos Hills Sex Assault; Dad Says Son Has Alibi

At the time of his arrest in November, Palos Hills police believed he may have been tied to an earlier incident that occurred Aug. 20, 2016 when another woman was grabbed at gunpoint from the same location in Palos Hills. The woman was made to drive to a secluded spot where she was robbed of her purse and cell phone.

The high schooler was also under investigation for two separate incidents that occurred within minutes of each other in Hickory Hills on Sept. 13, 2016 — an attempted carjacking and an aggravated kidnapping. Both crimes involved women who were in or near their cars.

Lee was arrested in Dolton on June 5 where he has since relocated following his arrest last November. He is being charged with two counts each of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated armed robbery in the Palos Hills and Hickory Hills incidents from Aug. 20, 2016 and Sept. 13, 2016 respectively, Palos Hills police said in a news release. Lee was expected to go before a juvenile court judge on June 6 to determine bond and placement.

“Through many long hours, executed subpoenas and lab results, the Palos Hills Police detectives were able to link the same juvenile offender to other crimes,” said Deputy Chief Traci Hlado.

Last November after Lee’s first bond hearing, his father claimed that his son was the victim of a “racial witch hunt” and was set to try out for the Miami Marlins baseball team. Lee’s father said his son was playing in a baseball game in Joliet during the time frame of the alleged assault, and that Palos Hills police “trashed” his house looking for evidence against his son.

The woman’s purse and items of her clothing were found at Lee’s house, prosecutors said. Police also said there was evidence he was trying to activate her stolen cell phone. The suspect was described as a black male, around 5-foot-6, between 16–19 years old and 120 pounds. He was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans, police said last fall.