ARRESTED: Fake doctor accused of sexually abusing of children
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The local man accused of posing as a doctor and preying on children has been caught and arrested in Idaho.
Police say Lee Smith III may have sexually attacked girls and boys of just about all ages. Smith is known to take public transportation, luring victims as he pretends to be a pediatrician.
“I just want him in jail where he deserves to be where he can’t hurt anybody else,” explains Candi who says two of her children were victimized by Smith.
When you look at pictures of Lee posing as a physician he may look the part but detectives say he’s no doctor but rather a predator who has sexually assaulted children since 2007.
“We slept in his living room for a couple months before this happened,” Candi explains. The mother of four says she thought Smith was a good guy, allowing her and her kids to move into his Northwest Houston apartment shortly after meeting him. However, she says Smith soon sexually abused her 15 year old daughter and her 8 year old son. “He cries a lot. He’s very sad. He now questions who he is”
Candi says her daughter tried to take her own life. “She swallowed 40 pills. So I had to take my daughter to the hospital then she spent some time in a psych hospital”.
Smith is charged with Sexual Assault of A Child and Indecency With A Child but he still hasn't been caught. Houston Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward if you turn him in.
“The fact that Smith goes to the extreme dressing up as a medical professional to find his victims truly shows how cunning, devious, secretive and diabolical this particular predator is,” says Crime Stoppers Victims Advocate Andy Kahan.
“We have no confirmed reports that any sexual assaults occurred at the local hospitals,” says Sgt. L. Donovan with the Houston Police Department.
Smith may call himself Justin Lee Smith. He’s 29 years old but may pretend to be older. He also has ripples in the skin on top of his head making it appear he’s wearing braids.
“The sooner we get him off the street the sooner we save other people’s children,” says Candi.
Alief ISD released a statement explaining Lee Smith III actually volunteered "a handful times at Mata Intermediate and Holub Middle School in 2017. His volunteer capacity was doing clerical work and only interacted with adults. He was never in a volunteer setting around students".
Investigators believe Smith has sexually assaulted far more children than they know about. They say he is not a doctor, is usually unemployed and often homeless. If you have information about Smith you are asked to call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477).