The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office has arrested a man in connection with a child sexual assault case from June 1997, when a mother reported her 3-year-old daughter was assaulted during a gathering of friends and family.

Deputies initially collected DNA evidence and interviewed the suspect, John Cowper, and the victim, but the case went cold.

Cowper was arrested in El Dorado County in January for unrelated charges and expressed a desire to discuss the 1997 case, prompting deputies to reopen the investigation.

"We're talking about going and knocking on doors again, making those phone calls, and going to the victim's house, going through everything all over again," said Ambar Vicente, a child abuse detective with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.

Vicente emphasized the importanc

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