After nearly 17 years, prosecutors believe they have solved the kidnapping and rape of a 9-year-old Buckley girl.
Donald Victor Schneider, now the prime suspect in a cold case that has gone unsolved since 1995, will be arraigned for child rape in Pierce County on Thursday.
It was a DNA sample that led prosecutors to Schneider, a repeat sex offender already serving a life sentence in the Walla Walla State Penitentiary.
Back in September 1995, a little girl was found in the woods near Buckley after she was abducted and raped.
At the time, police and parents put up flyers to warn other families around her neighborhood, but no suspects turned up.
However, DNA testing done back in May linked the case to Schneider, 53, according to Pierce County prosecutors.
Harley Ruff was a principal in the girl's school district in 1995.
"It was new ground for me in terms of, 'What do you do?'" said Ruff when asked about the 1995 incident.
Ruff remembers teachers and parents being upset about it. He's glad someone has finally been charged with the crime.
"I guess believing in karma, it does come back to get you," said Ruff.
Schneider's name brings back lots of memories for former Deputy Prosecutor Sunni Ko.
"I remember a very scary man," Ko told KING 5 News.
Ko prosecuted Schneider 2005 rape case which resulted in a life sentence.
"He knew that he was going away for life and you didn't see one emotion from him," said Ko.
Schneider is currently serving life without parole for a 2007 conviction on two counts of first degree rape and unlawful imprisonment. He previously served 10 years in prison for attacking and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 1982 as she walked home.
He has already been transferred from Walla Walla to the Pierce County Jail.
The victim is now 26-years-old. Prosecutors notified her about Schneider's arrest.
Her family released a statement, saying “We are in great appreciation to law enforcement for their work and to the Prosecutor’s Office for going forward with the case. Our hope is that he will not be released to endanger any other children.”
KING 5's Drew Mikkelsen, Lindsay Chamberlain, Natasha Ryan contributed to this report.
