Surrey RCMP make an arrest in connection with sexual assault of a young girl; release previous suspect

RCMP say they have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in Surrey last August.

Cory Schaumleffel of Chilliwack was taken into custody on Monday and charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, break and enter and numerous other charges.

Schaumleffel was arrested in September on an unrelated matter and was either held in custody or under house arrest until he was re-arrested on Oct. 13.

Court records show Schaumleffel has a long list of minor offences, including theft and breach of a conditional sentence.

On Aug. 28, the 9-year-old victim was abducted from her bedroom in the family home where she was sleeping, sexually assaulted and left alone in a nearby yard.

Investigators say it appears the girl was lured out of her open bedroom window by the suspect, who took her to a park near 126th Street where it is alleged the sexual assault occurred.

Schaumleffel was arrested after a stay of proceedings against previously accused Donovan Adams of Surrey.

Adams was arrested following the assault. The 23-year-old Surrey resident was facing charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual interference and an indecent act. He was known to police, but not known to the victim.

Surrey RCMP Superintendent Trent Rolfe says Adams made comments that directly implicated himself in the assault.

Police say Adams’ statement was independently analyzed, given his “vulnerability.”

However, the physical evidence did not confirm his assertions and actually led investigation in another direction.

It was eventually determined Schaumleffel’s DNA matched to the evidence recovered from the crime scene.

“As more evidence was unearthed, it became apparent that Mr. Adams had confessed to a crime he did not commit,” said Rolfe in a statement.

Adams was subsequently released without any charges being laid as the result.

“It is still unclear at this point why Mr. Adams confessed to a crime that he did not commit,” says Cpl. Bert Paquet with Surrey RCMP. “But part of our investigation is to reassess the steps we have taken. As we were going through those reassessing steps, it became evident that Mr. Adams was more than likely not the one responsible for this crime.”

Paquest says it is something they rarely see.

“People will not confess to a crime that they did not commit,” he says. “What we see more often is someone responsible for a crime that they did commit denying the fact that they were involved .The other way around is definitely something we don’t see often.”