November 28, 2011

A man suspected in rapes along the East Coast is challenging his extradition from Connecticut to Virginia.

Attorneys for Aaron Thomas are expected to fight the move to another jurisdiction on Monday afternoon in New Haven Superior Court.

Thomas was arrested in March in his hometown of New Haven. Authorities say DNA confirmed that he is responsible for rapes and other attacks on 17 women from Virginia to Connecticut over the span of a decade.

Virginia prosecutors petitioned to have Thomas face trial first in their state, and Connecticut officials said last week they had agreed to the extradition request.

Thomas pleaded not guilty in March to a charge of raping a woman in New Haven in 2007.