A preliminary hearing for the man accused by prosecutors as the East Coast Rapist has been postponed after his lawyer requested a court-ordered mental evaluation of his client.
Authorities believe that 40-year-old Aaron Thomas is responsible for rapes and other attacks on 17 women from Virginia to Connecticut over the span of a decade.
A hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday in juvenile court in Manassas. He is accused of abducting three teenage girls and raping two of them in Dale City on Halloween 2009.
Thomas was arrested in Connecticut and extradited to Virginia in November.
Thomas' court-appointed attorney, Ronald Fahy, said in a motion that Thomas has engaged in self-destructive behavior and refuses to communicate with him.
Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert said the hearing was rescheduled for March 1.
Thomas faces up to life in prison.
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