Sex offender who molested a Harrison County child may be going back to prison

A 23-year-old convicted sex offender, on probation for molesting a child in Harrison County, may be going back to prison.

James Michael Lee is accused of failing to keep up with sex-offender registration requirements in Jackson County, where he had been living. State records show no address for him on file.

Lee has been on probation for conviction of touching a child for lustful purposes in Harrison County from an incident that led to an arrest in 2015, when he was about 20 years old.

Lee was behind bars at the Harrison County jail from April 16, 2015, until Sept. 6, 2016, when he was released to probation, the jail docket shows.

Harrison County deputies arrested him Sept. 19 on a probation arrant to appear in circuit court. If a judge revokes his probation, he’s going back to prison.

The Harrison County jail also is holding him for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender.

Lee’s court date on the probation hearing in Harrison County is set for Oct. 1.

He is held with no bond.

No details were immediately available about the molestation case. State law on the unlawful touching of a child generally applies to victims under the age of 16.

This story was originally published September 21, 2018 at 2:53 PM.