Editor’s Note: Radio Milwaukee’s Jordan Lee was the subject of an interview published in Milwaukee Magazine’s August issue. As of that issue’s press time in early July, we were unaware of any allegations against him or his impending departure from the organization. In consideration of the criminal charges filed Tuesday, we will not publish the interview online.
Former Radio Milwaukee executive director Jordan Lee is facing a felony charge of sexually assaulting a child.
A criminal complaint filed on Tuesday, Aug. 4 charges Lee, 44, with one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 12. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of 25 years if he is convicted. The alleged victim is a girl known to Lee.
Lee was not in jail Wednesday afternoon; an initial court appearance is set for Monday, Aug. 10.
Al Orr, the chair of Radio Milwaukee’s board of directors, said in a message to staff on Tuesday, Aug. 3, that was later sent to “friends and supporters” that Lee’s employment ended July 23. Lee was “facing personal, health and legal challenges unrelated to his role at Radio Milwaukee,” Orr wrote. “However, we were not aware of the details of his legal matters and learned the specifics only when (Tuesday’s) complaint was filed.”
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The message described an organization in shock at the revelations.
“Today has been difficult,” Orr wrote. “On behalf of our entire board of directors, I am deeply sorry for the impact this terrible news has had on each of you. The allegations in the complaint against Jordan are horrific and hard to comprehend. I know you join me in keeping those affected close in our hearts as they seek justice and healing.”
Asked for comment Wednesday, Radio Milwaukee issued a short statement: “We are horrified by the allegations included in the complaint that was filed yesterday. Jordan Lee’s employment ended at Radio Milwaukee on July 23. We are sad and hurting for the victims and pray for their eventual healing.”
The single charge stems from alleged sexual contact Lee initiated with a young girl at a residence in Milwaukee between July 26 and Aug. 4, 2025. The criminal complaint draws from an email Lee allegedly sent to his psychiatrist last October, as well as texts and an iPhone note he allegedly sent to a woman who provided them to police. In the email, he also describes years of assaults he said he committed against the woman; the girl, now 7; and, years ago, another girl who was 2-3 years old at the time. The girls and the woman are known to Lee, and he describes the assaults as occurring while he was asleep.
In the iPhone note, Lee allegedly stated: “I’ve carried one additional secret, one so shameful and disgusting that I have buried into my subconscious and denied that this ever happened. The truth of it is this had happened more than one time. I wish there were better words for this, but I have to be honest with myself.”
A Kenosha native, Lee spent more than 16 years across two stints at Radio Milwaukee (WYMS-88.9 FM), including serving in various leadership roles, before becoming executive director in April 2025.
Orr’s statement from the Radio Milwaukee board said they believe at this point that the allegations against Lee were contained to his personal life. “We have no reason to believe the behaviors described in the complaint involved Jordan’s professional life. If you feel otherwise, we want to know,” he wrote, providing a contact with the station’s external HR provider.
Lee first joined Radio Milwaukee in 2008, a year after it launched, as a morning show host. Three years later, he moved to assistant program director before becoming program director and station director. Lee also helped create and launch HYFIN, Radio Milwaukee’s service dedicated to Black music and culture. In January 2022, he joined Paragon, a media consulting firm for which he had previously served as a consultant, in a full-time role. He returned to the station in November 2023 and took over as executive director on an interim basis in January 2025 and permanently three months later.
He was the station’s third executive director in a little more than three years. Lee replaced Maxie C. Jackson III, who took over the top leadership role at Radio Milwaukee in September 2022 after a stint at New England Public Media. Before Jackson was Kevin Sucher, who resigned in January 2022 after less than two years on the job.
In a recent interview with Milwaukee Magazine, Lee said Radio Milwaukee had been operating with a three-headed leadership team that also included director of innovation and strategy Tarik Moody, and former development director Maggie Corry.
“The three of us are kind of operating as a trifecta, to make sure that there’s stability,” Lee said in the interview conducted June 10. “Life is short. If something happens to me, I want Tarik and Maggie standing right here, ready to keep the train on the tracks. Because Radio Milwaukee has lost leaders and then gotten derailed a couple of times.”
Lee’s biographical information has been removed from the Radio Milwaukee website, which now lists Corry as interim executive director.
Phone and text messages left with Lee were not immediately returned.
