COURT REDUCES SENTENCE OF MICHAEL LEE, DANGEROUS SEX OFFENDER IN HULL
In June 2015, a significant legal decision was made to reduce the sentence of Michael Lee, a dangerous sex offender from Hull.Lee, 31 years old, had initially been sentenced at Hull Crown Court in July of the previous year to five years and nine months in prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman at a house party on New Year’s Day.
The victim, aged 29, had gone to bed in a bright pink girl’s bedroom after feeling unwell, only to wake and find Lee sexually assaulting her.
Lee, of Cambridge Street in west Hull, told her, "Don’t tell your mum," mistaking her for a child.
The court learned that Lee had 1,166 indecent images and films of children on his mobile phone, including 310 still images and 19 videos depicting the most severe forms of abuse involving children as young as five years old.
Additionally, police found that Lee had been contacting young girls via social media.
Lee admitted to multiple charges, including sexual assault, breaching a sexual offences prevention order, possessing indecent images of children, and extreme images showing adult women having sex with animals.
As part of his sentence, Judge Jacqueline Davies imposed an indefinite sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) that requires Lee to wear an electronic GPS tag continuously, making him the first sex offender in the region subjected to such monitoring.
She described Lee as an intelligent man who manipulated children for his gratification.
Historically, Lee had served seven years in prison in 2002 after luring young girls from playgrounds and walking them home to sexually assault them.
The court heard from the mother of one of his earlier victims, who expressed her distress and concern about Lee potentially offending again, believing he would reoffend between his previous release in 2005 and his arrest last year.
She emphasized the risk to other potential victims and urged public awareness.
Lee’s legal representatives challenged the length of his original sentence at the Court of Appeal, arguing it was excessive.
The judges—Judge Inman, Lord Justice Treacy, and Mr.
Justice Teare—agreed and reduced his sentence to four and a half years.
Following his release, Lee will remain on licence until at least 2024 and will be registered on the sex offenders’ register for life.
