Prisoner indicted in 2001 rape of 9-year-old in Las Vegas

A man serving at least a dozen years behind bars for sexual attacks on children was indicted Wednesday on rape charges from nearly 17 years ago after a re-examination of DNA evidence.

Samuel McDonald, also known as Craig McDonald Manuel, faces two counts of sexual assault with a minor younger than 14.

Prosecutors said McDonald raped the 9-year-old son of a woman he was dating in December 2001 in an apartment near Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive.

The victim’s mother reported the assault to police, and a DNA sample was collected from the boy. But the case was not prosecuted at the time, and the kit was among thousands untested in Nevada until the state received federal grant money that allowed prosecutors to work through the backlog.

The results of the boy’s test matched McDonald’s DNA late last year, and authorities reopened an investigation, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Jake Villani, who said it is unclear why the case never landed on a prosecutor’s desk after it was reported.

Chief Judge Linda Bell set bail for McDonald at $300,000, although he remains in custody at Southwest Desert Correctional Center in Indian Springs.

McDonald pleaded guilty to sexual assault and lewdness with a child younger than 14 in connection with attacks on three children. He was sentenced in 2006 to 12 years to life in prison and is next eligible for parole in 2023, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections website.

At least 12 arrests have been made since authorities started investigating previously untested sexual assault examination kits, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.