Handyman accused of child rape: 'I'm not evil'

A Pennsylvania handyman accused of serial child rape says he "never inflicted any pain on a child, nor would I want to."


Fifty-eight-year-old William Charles Thomas spoke by video during a brief court appearance Tuesday on 51 charges, including five counts of child rape.

Authorities say Thomas kept a "perverse shrine" in his trailer that included as many as 1,000 pairs of used girl's underwear, more than 1,000 images of child pornography and written accounts of sexual abuse of children. Authorities are urging other victims to come forward, saying Thomas wrote about molesting children as far back as the 1970s.

The (Easton) Express-Times reports that Thomas says he's "not the evil, disgusting person that people are making me out to be."

Thomas is jailed after failing to post bail.