A 58-year-old man identified as William Charles Thomas who worked as a trailer-park handyman from the 1600 block of Bristol Pike in Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was charged Monday with sexually assaulting and abusing more than five children including a relative, authorities said. The police called him a “serial child rapist” and they fear there could have been many more assault victims over the last 40 years.
Thomas resided in Midway Village Trailer Park in Morrisville. The new owner of his trailer, where Thomas worked, found a piece of plywood that had handwritten details about the sexual assault of two children, 3 and 6 1/2 years old, respectively. This discovery led to Thomas’ investigation being carried out in November. Investigators released several different photos of him dating back to almost a decade so it would be easier for victims to identify him. Thomas was an independent contractor and his victims ranged from the age of 2 to 10 years over the last 40 years, authorities said.
Thomas was put on trial Friday before District Judge William Benz on charges of possession of child pornography and dissemination of photos and films depicting child sex acts, according to court records. Bail had been set at 10 percent of $150,000 and he was sent to Bucks County jail, where he remained Monday morning.
Thomas’ trial on additional crimes, which include five counts of child rape and 46 related offenses according to court records, will take place before District Judge Jan Vislosky on Tuesday.
District Attorney Matt Weintraub said a thorough investigation revealed more than 1,000 images of naked children, child pornography, written accounts of child sexual abuse and several pairs of soiled little girls’ underwear. “And these pairs of underwear were displayed almost throughout his mobile trailer home,” Weintraub reportedly said. “This was a perverse shrine to his criminal conquests, and we are merely scratching the surface of those conquests today,” Weintraub continued. “To be blunt about it, this is a real life boogeyman.”
Lt. Henry Ward of the Falls Township Police Department reportedly said: “Try to come up with your worst scenario and times that by 10, and you’ll get close to what we saw. It was horrific.”
Neighbors were horrified at this incident and said they had known Thomas as “Willie.”
“When he was around, he acted normal,” Jessica Chobert, 29, reportedly said. “He was fine. He didn’t strike me as a person willing to do this. When I found out … it made me sick,” she continued. “It made me throw up. I can’t deal with people that hurt kids.”
Another neighbor, Jay Sofronsky, 35, said he had talked to Thomas earlier, but never went close to the trailer unless he needed a tool from his yard. “I didn’t see him with any kids,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any kids left in this park.”
Officials have asked victims or anyone with information about Thomas to contact Falls Township Sgt. Christopher Clark or Bucks County Detective Lt. Robert Gorman.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
