The wife of a Peterborough man charged with abducting and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl says her husband is claiming innocence in the case.

According to Natalie Tippett, her husband Stanley Tippett, 32, called her before he was arrested to say he'd been held at gunpoint early Wednesday and didn't know where he was. He apparently also told his wife of 12 years that he'd been carjacked the night the youth was allegedly snatched off the streets of Peterborough.

Tippett, who appeared in Peterborough court Thursday afternoon, further suggested he was in hospital getting a blood transfusion in Toronto the night of the assault, the 35-year-old woman contends. She says the allegations have been devastating for her and their five children, aged three months to nine years.

"(He said) he was held at gunpoint and he was thrown in the van. His van got stolen. They went on a highway pursuit, and they threw him out of the van and he blacked out and he was walking along a railroad track in Bowmanville," she said.

"This is too emotional for me and I cannot handle all the stress," she said. "I got to concentrate on my kids first."

Inside the courtroom, Tippett appeared distraught. Several times he buried his face in his hands. He is currently banned from making any contact with more than a dozen people, including his wife.  During the proceedings he mouthed the following words to her; "He was saying I love you, I love you. I'm sorry," his distraught wife revealed.

Stanley Tippett was arrested at about 8:40am Wednesday, approximately six hours after police found the 12-year-old girl behind a high school just east of Oshawa. Residents reported hearing screams, which sent Durham Regional Police officers to the area of Courtice Secondary School. When they arrived they saw a red van, which took off and was later found abandoned.

Police found the 12-year-old near the high school, and though she was distraught her injuries weren't considered life threatening. It's believed the youth was at a party in Peterborough, left with a couple of friends, and at some point was approached by the van. Authorities are trying to determine whether she entered willingly or was forced in.

"They were on a street in south Peterborough when they came in contact with this red van," said Durham police spokesman Dave Selby.

"We're not sure what happened at that point, whether she willingly went into the [vehicle] or was coerced or grabbed."

The driver then travelled nearly 75 kilometres to the Oshawa area, where the alleged assault occurred.

Tippett's mother, 54-year-old Susan Anderson, did not appear to believe her son's claim of innocence.

"My opinion? I just hope they lock him up and throw away the key," she said.

"I told my daughter, I said, 'he's not your brother and he's not my son any more if he does something like that.' "

More information has been released about the accused since his arrest. Tippett was at one point a suspect in the 1999 death of Sharmini Anandavel. He once lived in the same Don Mills apartment as the 15-year-old, who disappeared in June of that year. Her skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave four months later by people hiking along the Don River.

According to a published report Tippett confirmed at the time he was considered a suspect in the case, and that police had talked to him. He was never charged though and the case remains unsolved.

Tippett does however have a criminal record, according to published reports. In 2005 he was convicted of criminally harassing his 25-year-old female neighbour in Barrie, and was handed a suspended sentence.

Later that same year he was convicted of the same offence in connection with the alleged attempted kidnapping of a 21-year-old woman. He was sentenced to two years behind bars, and the judge in the case reportedly called him a "stalker" and a "predator."

There were some bizarre moments outside court Thursday as a Peterborough woman apparently accused Tippett of having an affair with her friend. She claimed the two are engaged and the friend is pregnant with his child.

Police admit the current case is a complex one and their investigation is ongoing. They say further charges may be laid.