Los Gatos woman says she encountered suspect in 1998
By Gloria I. Wang
A Los Gatos woman says that when she crossed paths with alleged child molester Lee Thomas Bjorn in 1998, he claimed to have lived around the Blossom Manor area of town.
Ilsa Eng, a resident of Longwood Drive, recalls Bjorn telling her that he used to live "a couple streets down" from her home, which is near Blossom Hill School. Bjorn also told Eng that he had moved to Aptos, in Santa Cruz County, because he was suffering from allergies in Los Gatos.
Eng had considered remodeling parts of her home in the summer of 1998, and came across Bjorn's classified ad in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. The ad stated that a man named Lee was a carpenter and builder, and did "quality work." Eng contacted Bjorn, who then arrived at her home to give her an estimate.
Bjorn showed up in a white pickup truck--Bjorn was driving a 1973 Chevrolet pickup when he was arrested in Los Gatos on Feb. 13--and wearing a white suit.
According to Eng, Bjorn tried to pressure her into remodeling her entire kitchen, instead of only doing parts of it, and became angry when she refused. Bjorn would not give Eng an estimate and, instead, left some building material at her home, promising to return.
"I told my husband, 'This guy's weird,' " said Eng. "He spooked me out." Their daughter, who was 15 years old at the time, also felt uncomfortable around Bjorn, according to Eng.
Eng also recalls making a telephone call to Bjorn, and a woman answered who identified herself as Bjorn's wife. The woman told Eng that Bjorn's workshop was in their home, Eng said.
Eng and her husband decided not to hire Bjorn as her contractor, and did not make any further contact with him.
After seeing the photo of Bjorn in the Feb. 21 issue of the Weekly-Times, Eng realized that the man charged with 16 total counts of child molestation was the very man she had met with in 1998. "The guy was in my house!," she said. Eng also realized that Bjorn's classified advertisement was still running in the paper, three years later.
Eng then contacted the paper, hoping it would pull the ad to protect other families. David Cohen, publisher of Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, which includes The Weekly-Times, responded to Eng's concern. "Recently the ad came up for renewal, but it was not renewed," said Cohen.
The text, which reads, "Carpenter/ Builder. Serving High-End Quality Minded Clientele. Finish specialist. Remodeling. Clean work sites ... Lee" is followed by a 408 area code phone number. Watsonville Police Sexual Assault Investigator Rodd Joseph said he recognized the phone number as Bjorn's cell phone number.
When the number was dialed, a man who identified himself as Joe answered the call. He said he was Lee Thomas Bjorn's brother, and declined to answer questions, instead giving contact information for Bjorn's Santa Cruz County attorney, Peter Chang. Joseph said that Lee Thomas Bjorn has a brother named Joe Bjorn who lives in Arizona.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
