A forensic scientist known for his role in some of America’s most famous criminal investigations spent decades helping train Chinese state security personnel through programs tied to federally funded institutions in Connecticut, according to a new investigation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reports that forensic expert Henry C. Lee trained thousands of Chinese law enforcement and security officials through programs affiliated with the University of New Haven over multiple decades.
Lee, born in China and later known nationally for his expert testimony during the 1995 murder trial of O. J. Simpson, served as Connecticut State Police commissioner and worked on numerous high-profile criminal cases, including investigations involving Elizabeth Smart, JonBenét Ramsey, Chandra Levy, and Laci Peterson.
According to the report, Lee also maintained longstanding relationships with China’s Ministry of Public Security and affiliated Public Security Bureau agencies, where he held consulting and honorary positions while helping establish police training centers and forensic science programs across China.
Chinese government and state media documents cited by the DCNF state that Lee trained personnel both inside China and in the United States through programs connected to the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science and the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven.
“Over the past 50 years, at least 1,000 teams and more than 10,000 [Chinese police] have received specialized professional training here in Connecticut at UNH,” Lee said in a 2019 interview organized by China’s United Front Work Department, according to DCNF translations cited in the investigation.
The report states Lee began working with Chinese security agencies in the 1980s while serving as Connecticut’s chief criminalist. He later accepted at least 15 positions with Chinese police agencies, prosecutorial entities, and police academies between 2000 and 2024, according to translated government and media reports referenced by DCNF.
The investigation also details how Chinese officers attended training programs in Connecticut and visited local American police departments while participating in programs affiliated with Lee.
A spokesperson for the University of New Haven told DCNF the university was unaware of Lee’s Chinese government affiliations but confirmed that Chinese government personnel had participated in training programs on campus.
“Between 2010 and 2020, 34 agencies from China sent a total of 439 employees to take part in trainings offered by the Lee Institute,” the university spokesperson said, according to the report.
Federal funding records cited in the investigation state the university has received approximately $135.8 million in federal awards since 2008, including grants tied to cybersecurity and law enforcement training.
Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, told DCNF the allegations should be investigated.
“No American university — and certainly not the five in this NSA program — should be admitting individuals with ties to China’s MPS, which has been involved in the authoritarian oppression of the Chinese people for decades,” Moolenaar said.
The report also links some trainees associated with Lee’s programs to later federal criminal investigations involving China’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” which U.S. authorities describe as a campaign to pressure Chinese nationals living abroad to return to China.
One former trainee identified in the report, Hu Ji, was indicted by the Department of Justice in 2020 on allegations tied to interstate stalking connected to Operation Fox Hunt. Federal prosecutors alleged the initiative used intimidation and coercion to target individuals living in the United States.
China expert Gordon Chang told DCNF the Chinese Communist Party uses foreign engagement opportunities to advance state objectives.
“We must defend our country from a clear and present danger,” Chang said in comments published by DCNF. “The CCP uses every point of contact to destroy our country, and we are now being overwhelmed.”
The University of New Haven stated that the Henry C. Lee Institute operates separately from the university’s primary administration. Lee’s institute did not respond to requests for comment, according to the investigation.
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