Hearing for alleged East Coast rapist postponed

A The preliminary hearing for the suspect in a series of brutal sexual assaults on the East Coast has been postponed.

Aaron H. Thomas, the alleged East Coast rapist, will not appear in court until March 1, according to the Prince William County Juvenile and Family Court Clerk.

A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.

Thomas was arrested in March in his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, after someone in Prince George’s County tipped off authorities. He is suspected of carrying out up to 17 attacks in Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island and Connecticut between 1997 and 2009.

He is on trial in Prince William County for attacking three young girls in Dale City on Halloween 2009.

Thomas’ defense attorney said, according to the Associated Press, that his client had exhibited self-destructive behavior and did not want to communicate with him. His attorney is requesting a psychiatric evaluation before further trial.

In Prince William’s case, authorities say Thomas attacked three teenagers trick-or-treating at gunpoint and raped two 17-year-old girls. A third victim, a 16-year-old girl, managed to text her mother from her cellphone asking for help. The attacker fled as police approached.

Thomas is charged with two counts of rape, three counts of firearm use and three counts of kidnapping with intent to defile. If convicted, he faces up to five life sentences.