LANCASTER : Videotape Advertised Girl for Sex, Prosecutor Says

A Lancaster apartment manager charged with sexually abusing a young girl over a period of several years made an explicit videotape that a prosecutor characterized Tuesday as advertising her for sex.

Robert E. Lee Jr., 47, who is in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in Lancaster Superior Court to 16 counts of criminal sexual misconduct involving a now 9-year-old girl over the past two years. He faces up to 84 years in prison if convicted on all counts, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Chesley McKay.

Lee may also face federal child pornography charges for bringing the videotape into California. Court records show that Lee admitted making the tape while living with the girl in Texas between late 1990 and late 1991, McKay said. In the tape, a man that the now 9-year-old girl has identified as Lee coaches her to undress and perform oral copulation while saying that she wants to be a prostitute. McKay said that “there is no question when you see the tape that the content is purely commercial in nature. If you wanted to advertise a girl for sexual favors, this is what you’d do.”