WALLACE — Prosecutors charged a Shoshone County man with rape and lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16 after investigators alleged he had multiple sexual encounters with a minor.

Tanner Lee, 21, is accused of having sexual contact with a minor on July 22 at two locations in Shoshone County, according to a probable cause affidavit. 

The investigation began July 30, after the minor disclosed the alleged assaults to family members, prompting a report to the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office. 

According to the affidavit filed by Shoshone County Sheriff's Office Detective Josey Stemrich, Lee met the minor through a coworker. Investigators said Lee offered to take the minor swimming along the Coeur d'Alene River after work. 

The minor told detectives that while they were swimming, Lee touched her inappropriately before driving to a more secluded area along the river. There, she said, he engaged in sexual activity with her. 

Later that night, the pair allegedly communicated through text messages and phone calls before meeting again near Pine Creek Road, where a second sexual encounter occurred, according to investigators. 

Stemrich reviewed hundreds of deleted text messages recovered from the victim's cellphone. According to the affidavit, the messages contained romantic and sexually explicit content, as well as discussions about keeping the relationship secret. Investigators reported that more than 600 messages were exchanged between July 22 and July 25. 

A forensic interview conducted at the Children's Advocacy Center in Coeur d'Alene later provided additional details consistent with the victim's earlier statements, according to the report. 

Authorities also obtained search warrants for a red Dodge Ram that the victim said was used during the first encounter. According to the affidavit, investigators collected possible DNA evidence from the vehicle. 

When detectives first questioned Lee during the execution of a search warrant, he denied having sexual contact with the minor. He claimed sexually explicit messages had been sent to what he described as a random phone number. 

During a subsequent interview Aug. 21, Lee again denied physical contact before changing his account, according to the affidavit. 

Investigators wrote that after his cellphone was seized and a DNA sample was collected, Lee became emotional and told detectives he wanted to revise his statement. 

According to the affidavit, Lee admitted he had sexual contact with the minor twice on July 22 and acknowledged communicating with her through text messages. 

Lee was arrested Aug. 21 and booked into the Shoshone County Jail on two counts of rape. Prosecutors later charged him with one count of rape and one count of lewd conduct with a child under 16.

Court records also contain a statement involving Tanner Lee's father, Raymond Lee, who faced charges of lewd conduct with a minor in 2023 and ultimately pleaded guilty to an amended charge of injury to a child.

After allegedly admitting to having sexual contact with a minor in July, Tanner Lee made an additional admission, according to court records, stating that he, not his father, had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor years earlier.

Raymond Lee was released from prison earlier this month after completing the fixed portion of a 10-year sentence related to that case. 

According to the affidavit, Tanner Lee told his father he should be "exonerated" in the case that sent him to prison, claiming he had never previously admitted responsibility. 

The report states that Raymond Lee responded that "he and God forgave Tanner for what he did." 

Court records show Tanner Lee also has a prior criminal case. In 2023, he was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery. In that case, the court withheld judgment and imposed two years of supervised probation, fines, a psychosexual evaluation and treatment. 

During his first court appearance Monday, Magistrate Judge Keisha Oxendine set bail at $80,000. 

Under Idaho law, the rape charge carries a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The lewd conduct charge is punishable by up to life in prison. If convicted on both counts, Lee could face multiple life sentences. 

As of Monday, Lee remained in custody at the Shoshone County Jail.