AO 91 (Rev. 08/09) Criminal Complaint

United States DistrictCourt

United States ofAmerica

V.

Gregory R. Lee

2659 Sparrow Hill Drive

Columbus, OH 43219

Defendanl(s)

for the

Southern District ofOhio

Case No.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

«7,77- /n:J-33l

I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best ofmy knowledge and belief.

On or about the date(s)of 3/6/17to 5/29/17 in the county of Franklin in the

Southern District of

Code Section

18U.S.C.2251

18U.S.C. 2252(a)(2)

Ohio , the defendant(s) violated:

Offense Description

Use of a minor engaged in sexuaily expiicitconduct for the purpose of

producing a visuai depiction of such conduct, using materiais that had been

shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce

Receipt of visuai depictions of a minor engaged in sexuaiiy expiicitconduct

via a means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce

This criminal complaint is based on these facts:

See attached affidavit incorporated herein by reference

Sf Continued on the attached sheet.

Swom to before me and signed in my presence.

Date: June 19. 2017

City and state: Coiumbus, Ohio

Complainant s signature

Brett M. Peachev. TFO FBI

Printed name and title

Uudge's signature

Elizabeth Preston-Deavers

Printed name and title

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION

In the Matter ofthe Criminal Complaint:

United States ofAmerica

V.

Gregory R. Lee

2659 Sparrow Hiil Drive

Columbus, OH 43219

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

I, Brett M. Peachey, a Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation

("FBI"), Columbus Resident Agency, being first duly sworn, hereby depose and state as follows;

1. I, TFO Brett Peachey (your affiant), make this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint

to arrest for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a)- Production ofChild Pornographyand 18 U.S.C.

§ 2252(a)(2)- Receipt ofChild Pornography. Since this affidavit is being submitted for the

limited purpose ofsecuring a criminal complaint and arrest warrant, your affiant did not include

each and every fact knownconcerning thisinvestigation. Your affiant did not withhold any

information or evidence that would negateprobablecause. Your affiantset forthonly the facts

that are believedto be necessaryto establishprobablecause that GregoryR. LEEcommitted the

violations listed above.

2. Your affianthas been employed as a policeofficer for the Westerville PoliceDepartment

since December of 1995. Since March of 2008, youraffiant has been assigned to the Cyber

Crimes and Violent Crimes Task Force with the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, Cincinnati

Division, Columbus Resident Agency, conducting online child enticement andchild pornography

investigations. Your affiant is alsoa member of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against

Children Task Force in Columbus, Ohioinvestigating similarcrimes. Youraffianthas gained

experience througha BachelorofArts Degreein Criminology, and hasreceived specialized

training in the area ofinternetcrimesinvolving child exploitation, child pornography

investigations and computer forensics. Your affiant has been involved in hundreds of

investigations involving internet crimes against children, resulting in dozens offelony arrests and

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convictions. As a Task Force Officer with the FBI, your affiant is authorized to investigate

violations ofthe laws ofthe United States under the authority ofthe United States.

3. On June 1,2017, your affiant was advised that the Dublin (OU) Police Department was

currently investigating Gregory R. LEE, residing at 2659 Sparrow Hill Drive, Columbus, OH for

engaging in sexual activity with a then-fifleen-year-oldfemale and the production and receipt of

child pornography involving the same child. Until recently, LEE was a teacher at Dublin Scioto

high school and the victim in this case, hereinafter referred to as Jane Doe, was a student of

LEE'S.

4. Your affiant obtained reports, narrative supplements, notes and search warrants executed

by the Dublin Police Department during the course oftheir investigation. According to this

information, on May 28,2017, Jane Doe's mother found and read a personal journal belonging to

Jane Doe which contained explicit descriptions of at least one act oforal sex between Jane Doe

and an individual identified as "Greg Lee."

5. On June 1,2017, Jane Doe was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center in Columbus,

OH. At that time, Jane Doe advised that she has taken and distributed nude photos ofherself to

Greg LEE through both text messages on her phone and through software applicationsaccessed

throughher phone. Jane Doe also advisedthat LEE has sent her partiallynude photographs of

himselfwhichshowedhis exposed genitalia. Duringthisinterview, Jane Doedenied that any

sexual contact had occurred between her and LEE.

6. In a follow-up interview with Dublin police detectives on June 2,2017, Jane Doe admitted

that she had in fact engaged in sexual contact with Lee, starting in November of2016, when she

wasfifteen yearsofage. Jane Doe also confirmed that she sent nude photographs or herself,

includingphotos ofher masturbating, to LEE at LEE's request.

7. On May 31,2017, a search warrant was obtained by Dublin police detectives for Jane

Doe's cell phone and two computers at her residence. During a preliminary forensic examination

ofJane Doe's cell phone, a photo ofa male's erect penis wasrecovered. The photo appearsto

have been sent to Jane Doe through the Viber application. Viber is described as a free, crossplatform instant messagingand voice over IP application which also allows users to exchange

images, video and audio media messages by sending files to each other. The date stamp on this

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photo wasMay30,2017, which correlates to a text conversation found on the phone with a

subjectutilizing the user name "Bear" through the Viberapplication. During the interview of

Jane Doe at the Child Advocacy Center, Jane Doe advised that LEE's phone number was saved in

her cell phone under the name "Bear."

8. On June 2,2017, Dublin Police Department executed a search warrant at LEE's residence:

2659 Sparrow Hill, Columbus, OH 43219. At that time various pieces ofdigital media were

seized and transported to the Dublin Police Department. LEE was present at the time and agreed

to speak to detectives about the ongoing investigation. LEE admitted that Jane Doe had texted

nude photos ofherselfto him which he then sent to his Gmail account. After being sent to this

account, LEE would save the photos to a USB drive which was currently located in his vehicle.

LEE further added that every photo ofJane Doe that she ever sent to him or that he ever took of

her would be on this USB drive. LEE also admitted that he had sent nude photos ofhimselfto

Jane Doe but believes that he later deleted them from his devices after sending them to her. LEE

further acknowledgedthat he took photographsofJane Doe with his phone in his classroom and

that thesephotoswouldbe savedto the USBdrive. BothLEEand Jane Doe admitted that they

engaged in oral sex in LEE's classroom at the school multiple times.

9. On June 13,2017, a federal search warrant was obtained for the items that had been seized

at LEE's residence by the Dublin Police Department, which included a Sandisk 16GB USB drive

that waslocated in LEE's vehicle and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. Forensic examination of

the Sandisk USB drive revealed a folder labeled "PPP" which contained 42 sub-folders labeled

with various dates andotheridentifying information. Approximately 234 images of JaneDoe

wererecovered from these folders including approximately 49 images whichdepicted Jane Doe in

various stages of nudity, including the lascivious display of thegenitals. Several ofthese images,

aswell as twovideos, depict Jane Doe masturbating. LEE hadgiven some of the images specific

titles suchas "cleanpussy,""deskchairpussy," "pussy1,""legs and ass," and

"playingwithherself." Two ofthese folders, whichwere labeled "8Januaryl8_2017(G2)" and

"19March6_2017(G2), contained several photos of Jane Doethat she couldnot have taken by

herself, as both ofher hands were visible in the photos. The photos in the folder entitled

"8Januaryl8_2017(G2)" all had file creation datesof January19,2017. The photosin the folder

entitled "19March6_2017(G2)" all had file creation dates ofMarch 12,2017.

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10. Forensic examination of LEE's Samsung Galaxy S4 smart phone revealed a large number

ofthe same photos ofJane Doe that had been found on LEE's SanDisk 16GB USB drive

referenced above. One ofthe photos, which had been entitled '*NaughtyinG2" on the USB drive,

depicted Jane Doe's pubic area while wearing underwear. Jane Doe's face and body were visible

such that your affiant was able to identify her, however the photograph focused on her pubic area

and her underwear were pulled to one side, exposing the right side of her vagina and labia. This

image was located within the "19Marchl6_2017(G2)" folder on the USB drive and had a file

creation date ofMarch 6, 2017, on the phone.

11. Another photo found on the phone, which had been entitled "Crotch&Panty" on the USB

drive, depicted a close up image ofa female's pubic area with her legs spread. Although the

female is wearing a pair ofpanties, they are pulled to one side exposing the right side ofher

vagina and labia. This photograph appears very similar to the "NaughtyinG2" image described

above, except that it is zoomed in so that just the pubic area and nude vagina and labia are visible.

It was also found in the "19Marchl6_2017(G2)" folder on LEE's USB drive and had a file

creation date ofMarch 6, 2017 on LEE's Samsung phone.

12. In addition to the two photos described above and various other photos ofJane Doe that

appeared to have been transferred from LEE's phone to his USB drive, numerous additional nude

photos that are believed to be ofJane Doe were found on the phone, but were not located on the

USB drive. Approximatelyten ofthese images depicted Jane Doe nude lying on her back in a

bed. Several ofthe photosare close up images of what is believed to be Jane Doe's vagina and

anus with her legs spread or in the air. The file creationdates for these photos is May 29,2017.

13. On Jime 15,2017, your affiant interviewed Jane Doe at her residence. Jane Doe was

shown the two photos described in paragraphs 10and 11 above and six additional photos that had

been found in the folder labeled "19March 6_2017(G2) on LEE's USB drive. When Jane Doe

was asked ifG2 had any significanceshe replied that it is LEE'S classroom number at the high

school. Jane Doe positively identified herself in all eight photos and advised that they had been

taken by LEE using his cell phone in his classroom.

14. The other six photos in these folders depicted Jane Doe in a similar pose as the two

photos described above, but are ofher buttocks from behind or from an angle under her skirt.

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Jane Doe's vaginais not explicitlyvisible in any ofthese photos. Whenasked if the dates that the

folders were labeled were the same dates that the photos were taken, Jane Doe advised that they

likely were.

15.Jane Doe advised that LEE would request that she send nude photos to him and that she

would feel "guilttripped" ifshedidn't. The majority of thetimes thatJane Doe sentnude photos

it wasat LEE'S request and, at times, LEE would askherto getin different positions forthe

photos. LEEalso requested that she takephotosand videos of herselfmasturbating or touching

herself and she complied.

16. The Samsungcell phone that LEE used to take the photos ofJane Doe is labeled with an

imprint stating that is was"madeinChina," andthushastraveled in interstate andforeign

commerce.

17. Based upon the above information, your affiant submits that there is probable cause to

believethat GregoryR. LEE has committed the offenseofProduction ofChild Pomography, in

violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251(a) and Receipt ofChild Pomography, in violation of 18 U.S.C.

2252(a)(2). Therefore, your affiant respectfully r^quest^this C^ourt issue acriminal complaint and

arrest warrant.

Brett M. Peachey

Task Force Officer

Federal Bureau ofInvestigation

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 19th day ofJune, 2017.

Elizab^ Presto^-Deaver^

United States MagistratCJudge

United States District Court

Southern District ofOhio

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