MUNCIE -- A convicted child molester is in legal hot water -- again -- after he was accused of refusing to leave the northside home of two girls, ages 12 and 9, and grabbing the younger child by her jaw.
John Lambert Lee III, 26, was preliminarily charged with battery resulting in injury to a person less than 14 years old and criminal trespass.
Lee was arrested Wednesday night after a Muncie woman reported he had refused to leave her North Reserve Street home. The woman said she had arranged for Lee's girlfriend to baby-sit for her two daughters, but was aware of Lee's criminal record and told him he was not allowed there.
City police officer Kyle Temple reported that when he arrived at the house, Lee approached him and said, "What? I can just leave!"
Lee told the officer he believed he was allowed to be in the company of the two girls 
The younger child then told police about "John getting mad at her and grabbing her jaw." Lee's girlfriend confirmed the assault had taken place.
The Muncie man was being held in the Delaware County jail on Thursday under a $7,500 bond.
Lee -- most recently of 9901 N. Ind. 3, Lot 14 -- was charged in March with failing to keep local authorities aware of where he was residing, a requirement for many sex offenders.
In that case he is charged with failure to register as a sex or violent offender and illegal sex offender residency, both Class D felonies carrying standard 18-month prison terms, and failure of a sex offender to possess identification, a misdemeanor.
The registry charge stemmed from the proximity of Lee's home at the time to Westside Park. Some sex offenders face restrictions on the distance they must live from facilities frequented by children, including public parks.
His trial on those charges is set for Sept. 2 in Delaware Circuit Court 4.
According to the Indiana Sex Offender Registry, Lee was sentenced to 10 weekends in jail after he was convicted of molesting, apparently in juvenile court, in December 2003.
Contact Douglas Walker at 213-5851.
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