Charges dismissed against Lee

A woman who fled with her 6-year-old daughter saying she feared the child was being abused, had charges of custodial interference dropped after a special prosecutor in the case found no crime had been committed.

Charges against Star Lee, 29, and her father, C.R. Deboe, who was charged for allegedly helping Lee conceal the whereabouts of the girl, were dismissed at the request of special prosecutor Bob Hibbett who said, under the law, the warrant did not spell out a crime.

?The warrant did not state a crime,? Hibbett said, noting the case was one that should have been heard by a divorce or juvenile court, not a criminal court. ?His (the child?s father?s) visitation rights may have been violated but it wasn?t a case for a criminal court.?

The mother fled town on July 11, 2005, saying she left because she feared the child?s father had physically abused the girl and that she also feared her current husband may hurt her child.

?My child was abused and I was abused. I?m not bringing her back until I?m sure she?ll be safe,? Mrs. Lee said during an interview in 2005 while the child was still hidden away. ?I left for the safety of both of us.?

Lee negotiated her return by phone with lawmen, first showing up alone to appear in court to avoid charges of contempt of court when she was ordered to appear. She would later turn her daughter over to authorities, ending the ordeal days after it began.

During the time of her disappearance, Lee maintained her father did not know where she was hiding and should not have been charged with aiding her flight. Lee also maintained, without ever revealing where she was hiding, that she never left the state and that her child was always safe during their disappearance.