Manassas, Va. (AP) - A Connecticut man who police believe is responsible for a series of sexual assaults along the East Coast over more than a decade was arraigned Wednesday in Virginia on charges of raping two teenage trick-or-treaters in 2009.

Aaron Thomas, 40, was extradited Tuesday from Connecticut to Virginia and made an initial appearance Wednesday morning in Prince William County's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

He appeared through a video hookup from the county jail and, unlike the other inmates awaiting their hearings, was shackled at his wrists and ankles. Asked if he understood the charges against him, Thomas replied "No," and mumbled for a court-appointed attorney. He hung his head throughout the brief hearing.

Before he was extradited, his public defender in Connecticut said he had been consulting experts about a possible mental health defense. After Wednesday's hearing, Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert said he would not be surprised if a similar defense were offered in Virginia.

Ebert said he sought to try Thomas first because the charges against him in this jurisdiction are especially heinous, and that it was hard to imagine a more disturbing crime than what Thomas allegedly committed in the Woodbridge area on Halloween 2009 - abducting three trick-or-treaters at gunpoint in the Woodbridge area, and raping two 17-year-olds. The third victim, age 16, was able to send a text message to her mother seeking help, and the attacker was forced to flee as police lights and sirens approached.

"When you have a serial rapist, it always strikes fear in the heart of the citizenry," Ebert said, noting that some parents had been reluctant to let their kids trick-or-treat after the attack.