Man fleeing child-rape trial here is arrested in Florida

A California man who skipped out on his King County trial on child-rape charges had a loaded gun and a collection of wigs in his car when authorities caught up with him Thursday in Florida, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

It took a week for law-enforcement officers from two states to track Roger Alan Scherner, who disappeared Feb. 28, just as he was set to go to trial in Seattle on charges of raping a 7-year-old relative in Bellevue.

Scherner, of Carmel, Calif., is being held in the county jail in Panama City, Fla., awaiting extradition to Washington state. Extradition could happen within a couple of days or take up to two months, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County prosecuting attorney.

"We want to bring him back as soon as possible," Donohoe said.

Scherner's bail — which had been reduced to $75,000 before he fled — has been raised to $10 million, Donohoe said.

Scherner is charged in King County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree child rape and one count of first-degree child molestation, for which he would face 13 ½ to 18 years in prison if convicted.

Scherner was alone in a vehicle when he was stopped Thursday, said acting U.S. Marshal David Miller. He had a loaded gun along with wigs and other disguises and foreign currency, Miller said.

"He denied his identity when we questioned him," Miller said.

Police and prosecutors say Scherner is suspected of raping and molesting three generations of children — most of them relatives — since 1966. Many of the alleged victims, who now range in age from late 20s to early 50s, were scheduled to testify at the trial.

Prosecutors have said the statute of limitations had expired on all the other possible crimes.

Scherner's defense attorney, Anthony Savage, said Thursday after the arrest that he was surprised by his client's disappearance but knew anticipation of the trial had been stressful.

"I understand and in a way empathize with his avoidance of the trial date — he's 79, and if the trial is lost, he's looking at up to 18 years."

In 2003, the girl Scherner is charged with raping told her mother and then police in California, where most of the family now lives, that Scherner had touched her sexually and forced her to touch him while on a family vacation in Bellevue a few years earlier, according to charging papers.

Police in Bellevue and California investigated the case and interviewed 10 alleged victims of Scherner's, all now adults except for the girl. He was charged in early 2007.

He could face additional criminal charges for jumping bail, prosecutors said.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com