Republican who compared gay people to “pedophiles” denies child sex abuse accusation

Former Michigan Rep. Lee Chatfield
Photo: Michigan House

A former lawmaker in Michigan who once compared LGBTQ people to pedophiles was accused last week of molesting a minor. Now he claims that he and the victim had a “years-long adult relationship” and that she is making “false claims” that their relationship started when she was 15-years-old.

Last week, the sister-in-law of former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R) came forward with the accusation that he sexually assaulted her for over a decade, starting when she was just 15-years-old.

Related: Court says trans people are protected by Michigan’s hate crimes law

At the time, Rebekah Chatfield was a student at the Northern Michigan Christian Academy School where Lee Chatfield was a teacher and athletics director. Lee Chatfield’s father was an administrator at the school and the pastor of the victim’s church.

She told Bridge Michigan that she started going over to her teacher Lee Chatfield’s home at that age because she came from a troubled home. She met Lee Chatfield’s young children and wife, and would often babysit for the family.

That’s when Lee Chatfield allegedly started touching her in the basement…

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