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

The Latest on a Pennsylvania handyman accused of serial child rape:

3 p.m.

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 (http://bit.ly/2jZkvLn ) 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.

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12:45 p.m.

Authorities say a Pennsylvania handyman accused of serial child rape kept a "perverse shrine" in his trailer — 1,000 pairs of used girl's underwear — and documented his crimes in hundreds of disturbing, graphic images and writings.

Fifty-eight-year-old William Charles Thomas was arraigned Tuesday on 51 charges, including five counts of child rape. Authorities are urging other victims to come forward, saying Thomas wrote about molesting children as far back as the 1970s.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub calls Thomas a "real-life boogeyman."

Police in the Philadelphia suburbs say they began an investigation after the owner of a trailer Thomas had just renovated found a piece of plywood on which Thomas had written about sexually assaulting two young girls.

Thomas could not be reached for comment in jail. Court documents do not list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.