Police in central California say they have caught a man who they think sexually assaulted a child and cut the child’s throat in the laundry room of an apartment complex earlier this month.
Jail records show that Arthur Dean Knapp, 40, is being held at the Madera County jail on several charges, such as rape and attempted murder. Knapp was caught on August 1, the same day the crime was reported. Chowchilla is a city of less than 20,000 people, located about 40 miles northwest of Fresno.
During a news conference on Tuesday of the same week that Knapp was officially charged, Chowchilla Police Chief Jeff Palmer named Knapp as the suspect.
“I want to extend our agency’s and our city officials’ sorrow to the victim, as well as their family, for having to endure such a tragic, and horrific assault upon them,” Palmer said at the news conference. “an assault carried out by a monster who should not have been walking our streets and should never walk any streets freely again.”
There was an attack in the laundry room of the Chowchilla apartment building.
The brutal attack happened in a Chowchilla apartment building laundry room that people lived in together.
Palmer called the attack an “opportunity crime.” He said Knapp did not live in the flat and it was not clear if he knew the victim before the attack.
Knapp is accused of cutting the child’s throat and leaving them for dead after the sexual attack. Palmer said that after the victim woke up, the child was able to call the police and get care and surgery at a nearby children’s hospital.
“This attempt to take this victim’s life was unsuccessful; the reason it was unsuccessful was because the suspect counted on the victim to be weak,” said Palmer. “He got it wrong. That person was so strong that they were able to get up and tell someone what had happened.
Palmer said that Knapp was linked to the crime by witness accounts and DNA evidence from a rape kit given to the U.S. Department of Justice. Police said on Tuesday that the young victim is healing from the injuries she got in the attack and will live.
Palmer said, “Things like this can’t happen to our kids.” “Cases like this in smaller cities like ours are very personal to all of us.”
People can’t get out of jail for Knapp’s life.
Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno said Tuesday that Knapp could get life in jail without the chance to get out if she is found guilty as charged.
On top of rape and attempted murder, Knapp is also charged with violating his parole and attacking with a deadly weapon.
Knapp has also been convicted of crimes in the past, which could make any punishment he gets harsher, Moreno said.
“We are prepared to do everything we need to do to make sure the community stays safe and justice is served,” Moreno said.
Knapp was arraigned in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. This is a normal part of the criminal justice system at this time. There will be a preliminary hearing for him on August 23. Online court records show that.
+ There are no comments
Add yours