Police in central California arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a kid and slicing the child’s throat in the laundry area of an apartment complex earlier this month, according to reports.
Arthur Dean Knapp, 40, is being held at the Madera County Jail on many accusations, including rape and attempted murder, according to jail records. Police in Chowchilla, a city of less than 20,000 people approximately 40 miles northwest of Fresno, detained Knapp on August 1 – the same day the incident was reported.
Chowchilla Police Chief Jeff Palmer identified Knapp as the suspect during a Tuesday press conference, the same week he was formally indicted. “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.”
The savage attack occurred in a laundry facility shared by inhabitants of an apartment building in Chowchilla.
Palmer, who described the incident as a crime of opportunity, said Knapp was not a resident of the flat and it was unclear whether he had prior contact with the victim. Following the sexual assault, Knapp is accused of cutting the juvenile’s throat and abandoning him for dead. However, once the victim recovered consciousness, the child was able to notify police before being treated and operated on at a local children’s hospital, Palmer said.
“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,” Palmer claimed. “He counted incorrectly. In reality, the victim was strong enough to pick themselves up and tell what had happened.”
According to Palmer, investigators used witness testimony and DNA evidence from a rape kit submitted to the US Department of Justice to link Knapp to the murder. Police officials said Tuesday that the little victim is recovering from his injuries and will survive.
“Cases like this cannot happen to our children,” Palmer added. “Cases like this in smaller cities like ours are very personal to all of us.” If convicted as charged, Knapp may face life in prison without parole, Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno said Tuesday.
Knapp has been charged with rape, attempted murder, parole violations, and assault with a deadly weapon. Knapp also has prior convictions on his record, which may raise the harshness of any term he receives, Moreno added.
“We are prepared to do everything we need to do to make sure the community stays safe and justice is served,” Moreno told the news crew.
Knapp was arraigned in court on Tuesday and pled not guilty to the indictment, which is the usual procedure at this stage of the criminal justice system. He is expected to appear in court on August 23 for a preliminary hearing, according to online court records.