Prince William County, Va. — Aaron H. Thomas, the man police have dubbed the East Coast Rapist, arrived in Prince William County today to face charges of rape in a case dating back to Halloween 2009.
Thomas was extradited from Connecticut, where he was arrested at his home in New Haven in March.
Police say Aaron H. Thomas, now 39, approached three female teenagers while they were walking home from a night of trick-or-treating.
Thomas used a gun forced them into a wooded area and then raped two 17-year-old girls while a 16-year-old girl watched helplessly.
The 16-year-old used her phone to summon help, police said. By the time police arrived that night, the suspect had fled the area, said police.
After the suspect was arrested, police said he used to live in Dale City.
Earlier this year, police erected billboards with sketches of the suspected rapist’s face up and down the east coast. Shortly after that, a tip came into police from Maryland that led police to their suspect in Connecticut.
Police began looking for the alleged East Coast Rapist when the first attacks were reported in 1997 in Maryland. Of the 40 attacks he’s been linked to, six of them happened in Virginia, police said.
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