FALLS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Bucks County, Pa., man accused of sexually assaulting five children over a 20-year period denied any wrongdoing during a court appearance Tuesday.
William Charles Thomas, 58, of Falls Township, Pa., was arraigned on 51 charges including multiple counts of child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses.
Thomas did not enter a plea during the brief video proceedings.
“I just need somebody to believe that I’m not the evil, disgusting person that people are making me out to be,” he said.
Authorities allege the trailer park handyman and subcontractor targeted and stalked his victims, sexually assaulted them and kept “a perverse shrine to his criminal behavior” at his home.
Magisterial District Judge Jan Vislosky scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 15 and set bail at 10 percent of $750,000.
He was already jailed Friday on charges of possessing and disseminating child pornography. His bail then was set at 10 percent of $150,000.
Thomas does not have an attorney, but was advised by Vislosky about how he can be appointed a public defender.
“There’s no guard that’s going to help me here,” he responded. “I’m getting treated very awfully and I’m just scared to death. I never inflicted any kind of pain that I’m receiving right now on a kid, never inflicted any pain on a child, nor would I want to.”
The investigation began in November when the new owner of a trailer Thomas had recently worked on found a piece of plywood covered with writings describing the rapes of two girls as young as 3 and 6 and identifying them by name, authorities said.
During a search of his home at Midway Village Trailer Park last week, investigators say they found at least 1,000 photos of naked children on his bedroom walls, 500 to 1,000 pairs of soiled girls’ underwear and hundreds of other vulgar and graphic drawings and writings.
“The human race hasn’t come up with words to describe what we saw in that trailer,” Falls Township Police Lt. Henry Ward said Monday.
Authorities believe there could be more victims since some of the items found in Thomas’ trailer date as far back as four decades.
If on Feb. 15, Vislosky finds there is sufficient evidence, Thomas’ case will move to Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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