Stay Issued On Sex Assault Charge

A sexual assault case in Vernon involving a Vancouver murder suspect, has ended.

Crown counsel has issued a stay or proceedings on a sexual assault charge against William Victor Schneider in Vernon provincial court.

The 49 year old was due to go on trial this week.

No details of the case have been released by police.

Photo: Nasumi Kogawa with murder suspect William Schneider in Vancouver the day she disappeared in September 2016

Crown spokesperson Alisia Adams says based on a review of materials available, the prosecutor concluded the charge approval standard could no longer be met.

“Under the Charge Assessment Guidelines, charges will only be approved where Crown counsel is satisfied that the evidence gathered by the investigative agency provides a substantial likelihood of conviction and, if so, that a prosecution is required in the public interest,” says Adams. “A substantial likelihood of conviction exists where Crown counsel is satisfied there is a strong, solid case of substance to present to the Court. This test applies at all stages of the prosecution. If, at any point, the prosecutor concludes that this test is no longer met, a stay of proceedings is the appropriate course of action.”

Schneider is in custody on charges of murder and offering an indignity to human remains in Vancouver in connection with the death of 30 year old Natsumi Kogawa.

Schneider was arrested in Vernon’s Polson Park last September, shortly after Kogawa’s body was found on the grounds of a vacant Vancouver home.

His preliminary inquiry on the murder charge is set to begin October 16.