PRINCE WILLIAM, Va. (WTVR) – The man police are calling the East Coast Rapist backed out of a plea deal Tuesday morning. WUSA-TV reported Aaron Thomas did not plead guilty as expected during a court appearance in Prince William County. As a result a trial date will be scheduled.
Thomas was expected to admit to abducting three Virginia teenagers and raping two of them on Halloween night 2009. It would have been his first admission of guilt.
Prosecutors said the Connecticut man is responsible for 17 sexual assaults, from Virginia to New England, dating back to 1997.
DNA evidence has linked Thomas to the Prince William case and the others.
