PORT ANGELES — A 42-year-old Sequim truck driver was released on his own recognizance Thursday after being charged with two counts of first-degree child molestation.
The charges against Corey Dale Schneider, booked into the Clallam County jail Wednesday night, include special allegations that he used his position of trust with the alleged victim and should have known she was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance.
She was 5 years old July 24, 2019, when Sheriff’s Detective Stacy Sampson conducted a forensic interview with her that led to the charges.
The girl said Schneider repeatedly touched her sexually when she was 4 and 5, according to the probable cause statement authored by Sampson.
The molestations, which Schneider denied in an Aug. 6, 2019, interview with Sampson, allegedly occurred Oct. 7, 2017; Oct. 6, 2018; Oct. 7, 2018; and July 23, 2019.
Sampson said in the statement that she received a crime lab report Jan. 7 that indicated the girl’s DNA was found on a sex toy the child said Schneider had used.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Roberson argued for $250,000 bail, arguing that the crimes were “not just a one-off incident but a repeated pattern of behavior.”
Erickson granted Clallam Public Defender Harry Gasnick’s request that Schneider, a lifelong Clallam County resident, be released without bail.
“I don’t think we have enough evidence that he would fail to appear in the future, and I also don’t think I can legitimately say he is a substantial risk to commit a violent offense in the community,” Erickson said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.