A 13-year-old girl sent a frantic text message around 2:25 a.m. on July 24 saying an adult male had followed her home and entered her residence, setting off a rapid response from Tuolumne County Sheriff's deputies that ended with a 33-year-old Sonora man in custody within hours. The girl told investigators the man had committed a sexual assault against her, and detectives soon identified him as Andrew James Lee.
According to a Modesto Bee report on the arrest, the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department received a report of a sexual assault against a juvenile after dispatchers were told the victim had sent text messages describing an adult male who followed her home and made threats toward her family. The victim reportedly first encountered Lee at a convenience store before he allegedly followed her all the way to her residence and entered the home, according to a sheriff's post cited in the report.
Deputies located and detained Lee near the victim's home, and detectives arrested him in connection with the sexual assault, per the sheriff's account relayed by the Bee. He was taken to the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office for further questioning before being booked into the Dambacher Detention Center.
Charges Carry Serious Prison Exposure
Lee now faces multiple felony counts: rape by force or fear, sexual penetration of a minor, lewd or lascivious acts involving a child under 14, and burglary. Under California Penal Code Section 261(a)(2), rape by force or fear covers non-consensual intercourse accomplished through force, violence, duress, or threat of bodily harm, and is punishable by three, six, or eight years in state prison, according to legal analysis from Former LA Sex Crime Prosecutors.
Separately, Penal Code Section 288(a) makes lewd or lascivious acts against a child under 14 a felony carrying the same three-, six-, or eight-year sentencing range, with prosecutors required to prove sexual intent, according to the Shouse Law Group. The burglary count stems from Penal Code Section 459, which classifies entering an inhabited dwelling with intent to commit a felony inside as first-degree residential burglary — a violent or serious felony strike under California's Three Strikes Law, per the Silver Law Firm. That strike designation helps explain the weight of the case against Lee, whose combined charges carry the kind of mandatory sentencing enhancements that can dramatically lengthen a prison term if he is convicted.
Victim Shielded, Investigation Ongoing
The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office has formally designated the girl as a Confidential Victim in its public releases, a standard step in child abuse investigations meant to protect a juvenile's identity and privacy, as reported by the Sierra Sun Times. Investigators say the case remains ongoing, according to the sheriff's post.
Lee is being held at the Dambacher Detention Center on $150,000 bail, per the same account. The facility itself opened in Sonora in January 2021 as a $50 million, 63,000-square-foot jail built to hold up to 230 adult inmates, according to facility developer CGL Companies. County detention facilities including Dambacher undergo annual civil grand jury inspections under Penal Code Section 919(b) to monitor management and safety protocols, per the 2025-2026 Tuolumne County Civil Grand Jury report.
A Documented History With Local Law Enforcement
Public records show this is not Lee's first contact with Tuolumne County law enforcement. He was previously arrested in December 2023 while incarcerated at Dambacher after he allegedly shattered a visitor kiosk screen using a landline telephone handle, according to myMotherLode.com. He was also arrested in September 2020 on suspicion of attempted arson, after a witness reported seeing someone try to break into a Sonora coffee shop and start brush fires along the roadway, the outlet reported.
Those earlier arrests represent separate allegations and prior cases that do not serve as proof of the current charges against Lee. Open questions remain about his arraignment schedule, any defense filings, and the formal charges the Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office ultimately decides to pursue.
