Accusers of Alleged Serial Child Sex Predator Break Their Silence
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (CBS)--"J.S." is now 23.
"Hello," she began to a room of reporters and cameras.
At just four years old, she says a familiar face, a family friend molested her repeatedly.
"If you yourself are a victim of William, I encourage you to come forward and stand up for yourself," J.S. said.
The "William" she described is William Charles Thomas. Bucks County prosecutors arrested him last month on more than 50 child sex abuse charges. Six accusers have come forward. Among them, two women who signaled they wanted to share part of their story with the press and members of the public.
When police searched his home, Bucks County District atty Matt Weintraub says they found more than 1,000 pairs of little girls' underwear hanging from the ceiling.
"He also possessed over 1,000 pairs of soiled little girls' underwear in his trailer, and these pairs were displayed almost throughout his mobile trailer home," Weintraub said at a press conference. "This was a perverse shrine to his criminal conquests."
'Real-Life Boogeyman:' Suspected Serial Child Rapist Charged In Bucks County
Today, they identified themselves using only their initials.
"I was being taken advantage by a grown adult child molester," said "J.M.."
Now 27, she says Thomas, or Willie, as he was known to the children around the Midway Village Trailer Park in Falls Township, first sexually assaulted her when she was seven. In her words, Willie wore the mask of a trusted friend, the mobile home park handyman who never raised suspicions with her parents.
"A man who preyed upon young, innocent, helpless children, doing things to us we had no idea they were wrong at the time," J.M. said.
As we first told you last month, court papers filed in the case showed a wealth of evidence against Thomas - including a bedroom shrine he allegedly kept of child pornography and children's clothing. Thomas was tracked down by police from detailed messages he would allegedly leave behind in mobile home trailers - many of the messages recounting graphic details of child sex abuse.
Workers with the Network of Victims Assistance (NOVA) point out the calling card of a pedophile is well established
"Those who engage in the abuse of children are tricky and are manipulative," Mandy Mundy, with NOVA, said.
Both ladies told reporters they are now free from the dark secret that has been haunting them - a childhood nightmare from long ago kept quiet in a Bucks County neighborhood
"But today I will no longer feel that way," J.M. said.
"That this is not my fault, because I wasn't even old enough to understand."
"Nobody should be ashamed, embarrassed or discouraged," J.S. said. "I've been there,"
NOVA associates are available, free of charge, to those seeking help or counseling in dealing with possible sexual abuse. They can be reached at 800-675-6900. The organization and county prosecutors are also actively seeking information on other potential victims. If you have information concerning the case of William Charles Thomas, you're asked to contact Falls Township Police at 215-302-3315 and ask for Detective Sergeant Christopher Clark.
