Vandalia man charged with sodomy of 11-year-old

By Dan Claxton

A Vandalia man is charged with sodomy on an 11-year-old boy at a residence in Mexico in August of 2021.

According to court documents, 21-year-old Dakotah Schneider is charged with Sodomy or Attempted Sodomy after the August 8, 2021 incident.

Police say on that date, officers were called to an address in Mexico where they spoke to a person identified as JH, who said she walked in on Schneider and the 11-year-old victim in the laundry room of her house.  According to JH, the victim was leaned over the washing machine with his arms extended.  Schneider was behind the child victim, and when JH walked in he began "rapidly adjusting his waistband."

JH told both of them to leave the laundry room and they did, according to court records.  A short time later, she saw the victim under a blanket "fort" on the steps of the house and again saw Schneider behind the victim.

During an interview at Rainbow House, the child said that Schneider sodomized him and that it had happened before.  The child proceeded to describe how Schneider had asked him to come into the laundry room with him and the subsequent crime.

Schneider was arrested Thursday morning in connection to the crime and has been formally charged.  No hearing dates have been set.