Hall County, Georgia – A Korean from the Atlanta metropolitan area who is 18 years old and is on a tourist visa faces fees days after being banned from school campuses in Gwinnett and Hall counties.
Donga Lee was arrested Wednesday afternoon at the flower branch home. He is currently in custody at Hall County Jail on immigration hold and misdemeanor Gwinnett County School Police charges.
According to the arrest warrant, he was charged with “failing to check in at the designated location when he entered school.”
According to the incident report, Lee said on February 28, students earned an unauthorized entry into Seckinger High School when they opened their side doors and bypassed regular security protocols.
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Community concerns escalated Monday when Seckinger High School staff sent parents emergency letters contacting students about inviting students to meet in person via social media.
By Tuesday, deputies for both Gwinnett County School Police and Hall County Sheriff’s Officers had issued criminal trespass warnings against him after they tried to enroll at West Hall High School. Hall County school officials say he didn’t have the proper documentation and was not of the right age.
Lee spoke with Channel 2 Gwinnett County Director Matt Johnson on Wednesday, saying his presence at Seckinger High School last week was legal and his unidentified parents put him in and staff provided him with a visitor badge.
“I just wanted to make friends,” Lee said before arresting him. “I did not do anything illegal to them.”
He says that the reason he came to Georgia is that he will be reunited with people he met before. He denied introducing himself as a student at school.
“I arrived here like I did five days ago, and did nothing illegal,” he insisted.
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Lydia Clark, who says her daughter met Lee at the Mall, Georgia, said earlier this week that Lee had bought expensive gifts such as perfumes and bags for teenagers.
“The sets he was buying seemed to be $200 each,” Clark said. “This person is very detailed. He has names and photos of the other children.”
He challenged those claims, admitting to purchasing gifts for the teens he met.
“I bought a gift and it was like it included $43. Also, it’s not a luxurious gift,” he said. “I spend my parents’ money.”
Homeland Security investigated on Tuesday to confirm that Lee has a valid 90-day tourist visa.
Before being arrested Wednesday evening, Lee posted on social media about his first class flight from Atlanta to Seoul on March 11. It includes the caption “Hmm… Goodbye Atlanta, by the way.”
He qualifies for a $2,500 bond, according to court records. However, it is unclear when his immigrant holdings will be lifted.
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