( CNN ) -- A man arrested in connection with the 1990 abduction , rape and attempted murder of an 8-year-old girl appeared before a judge Thursday on an attempted capital murder charge , according to CNN affiliate KTRK . Dennis Earl Bradford , a 40-year-old welder , was arrested after DNA tied him to the crime , police say . Dennis Earl Bradford waived his right to a court-appointed attorney when he appeared Thursday , saying he would retain his own . For security reasons , the hearing was held at the Galveston ( Texas ) County Jail and not in a courtroom , the station reported . The judge ordered Bradford to undergo a physical and mental evaluation and set bail at $ 1 million . His next court appearance was set for Wednesday , according to KTRK . Upon conviction , an attempted capital murder charge could result in a sentence of life in prison . Bradford , a 40-year-old welder , was arrested early Tuesday in Little Rock , Arkansas , in connection with the 1990 incident involving Jennifer Schuett , who was abducted from her bedroom , raped and left for dead in Dickinson , Texas . Schuett shared her story with CNN two weeks ago in hope of someday bringing her attacker to justice . CNN normally does not identify victims of sexual assault , but Schuett decided to go public with her story to increase the chances of finding and prosecuting her attacker . `` It 's not about me anymore , '' she told CNN in September . `` It 's about all the little girls that go to sleep at night . I know there are so many girls out there who have been raped and hurt . You have to fight back . '' Bradford 's arrest came after DNA and other forensic tests led police to him , authorities said . `` This is a huge day for me , '' Schuett told CNN on Tuesday . `` And I want to see this through the end . The rest will come out during the trial . '' Schuett said she was alone in her bed August 10 , 1990 , when a man crept in through a window . She remembers waking up in a stranger 's arms as he carried her across a dark parking lot . She said he told her he was an undercover cop and knew her family . He drove her through the streets of Dickinson , pulling into a mechanic 's shop next to her elementary school . `` Watch the moon . The moon will change colors , and that is when your mom will come to get you , '' she recalled him saying . `` Oh , it looks like she is not coming . '' Schuett said he drove her to an overgrown field next to the school and sexually assaulted her . She passed out . When she regained consciousness , she was lying naked on top of an ant hill with her throat slashed from ear to ear and her voice box torn . She was found at 6 p.m. on a hot August day after lying in the field for nearly 12 hours . She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition . `` Three days after the attack , I started giving a description . The doctors told me I would never be able to talk again , but I proved them all wrong , '' Schuett said . She believes that she got her voice back so she could tell her story . Houston FBI Special Agent Richard Rennison is one of the lead investigators in the case , along with Dickinson Police Detective Tim Cromie . Both men were discussing the case when Rennison received a memo from the FBI 's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment ( CARD ) team , seeking child abduction cases that had gone cold and could be retested for DNA evidence . Schuett 's was one of the cases selected . `` This is the only one that I can think of that the victim has suffered some traumatic injuries and survived , '' Rennison said . `` The main reason the CARD team picked this case was because she was alive . In cases of child abduction , it is rare that the child is recovered alive . Frequently , you recover a body . And most times , you never find them . '' The investigators found evidence collected 19 years ago , which was retested . It included the underwear and pajamas Schuett was wearing , as well as a man 's underwear and T-shirt , which were found in the field where Schuett was found . The clothes were tested in 1990 , but the sample was n't large enough for conclusive results . But now , modern techniques allow DNA to be isolated from a single human cell . They were still awaiting the results when CNN featured Schuett 's story in late September . CNN 's Mayra Cuevas-Nazario contributed to this report .
40-year-old held on $ 1 million bail in girl 's abduction , rape , attempted killing . He could get life in prison if found guilty . Comment: DNA and other tests led to suspect , police say .