Crime & Safety
Mug Shots Released of East Coast Rapist Suspect
Aaron Thomas now faces charges in Loudoun County as well as Prince William County and in Connecticut, where he was captured.
Police this week released mug shots of the suspect in the East Coast Rapist Case, putting a face to the man accused of sexually assaulting 17 women in 12 attacks spanning 400 miles.
Police released mug shots of Aaron Thomas, 39, from his recent arrest and from an arrest in 2001, while the East Coast Rapist was in the middle of his attacks.
Thomas was on charges of rape, abduction with intent to defile and forcible sodomy stemming from a 2001 attack in Leesburg. The charges are in addition to Thomas's
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Thomas will stand trial in Connecticut before he is brought to Virginia to face the Prince William County and Loudoun County charges. His Virginia charges alone face him with the possibility of up to eight life sentences.
Police captured Thomas thanks to the use of DNA matching as well as a and an anonymous tip that came after billboards went up across the East Coast.
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