MANASSAS, Va. (AP) -- Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert has handled a lot of big cases over more than four decades, but he says the arrest Friday of a suspect in the case of the East Coast Rapist is a highlight of his career.
Police in Connecticut arrested 39-year-old Aaron Thomas on Friday after obtaining a DNA match that they believe links him to 17 rapes and other assaults on women stretching back to 1997.
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Ebert said Monday at a news conference that the public's concern over the rapist approached that of the D.C. sniper in 2002, who also targeted Prince William County.
That fear stemmed from the nature of the East Coast Rapist's most recent attack, on Halloween night 2009 in Prince William County on three teenage girls who were trick-or-treating.