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Woman escapes from shallow grave after alleged sex assault
©Associated Press
March 2, 2003
PENSACOLA -- A woman is recovering after allegedly being sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend and left in a shallow uncovered grave last week. The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was found bound and gagged along Interstate 10 on Thursday morning, according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.
Late Thursday, deputies arrested David M. Lee, 37. Lee had left the victim in the grave so he could pick their son up from school, deputies said. Lee was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping and domestic violence. He was booked into Escambia County Jail, where he remained Saturday without bail.
According to deputies, the assault began Thursday morning when the victim went to Lee's house to pick up mail and deliver a certified letter. After Lee read the letter, he allegedly tackled the woman. He then bound her hands, feet and mouth with duct tape and sexually assaulted her, deputies said.
According to a sheriff's report, Lee then put the victim into his pickup, drove into a wooded area beside the house and dumped her in a "hole about 3-feet deep and about the length of a coffin." He threw a blanket over her, deputies said. The victim loosened her bindings enough to make it out of the woods and onto the interstate, the report stated.
The incident was not Lee's first brush with the law. Court records show he was arrested Feb. 25, 2002, for possession of obscene materials and attempted voyeurism. He pleaded no contest to the charges in August. He was adjudicated as a sex offender and sentenced to six months on probation, records show.
Court records also show the victim obtained a domestic violence injunction against Lee in November 2001.
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