Connecticut prosecutors will extradite 40-year-old Aaron Thomas along the East Coast to Virginia on Tuesday. Thomas pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping a woman in New Haven in 2007, but authorities say there is DNA evidence linking him to rapes and other attacks on 17 women from Virginia to Connecticut. New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington would not comment on the decision to extradite Thomas from New Haven at this time.
Authorities mounted a public outreach campaign following reports of assaults and rape across Maryland, into New England, and also in Virginia. The attacks range from 1997 to 2009. DNA from a cigarette Thomas discarded linked him to the man in the attacks. Thomas’ public defender says the extradition would violate her client’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.
