The wife of a former Toronto man charged in the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old Peterborough girl says she's in disbelief over her husband's arrest.

"I was shocked, I was shocked," Natalie Tippett told reporters outside a Peterborough courthouse on Thursday morning after learning of the allegations against her spouse, Stanley Tippett.

Holding their three-month-old girl, Natalie said her husband told her he was the victim of an abduction, and didn't mention a 12-year-old girl. The couple has five children together.

Durham police said Tippett was arrested in Manvers Township on Wednesday after a young girl was abducted from a Peterborough street and sexually assaulted behind a school in Courtice, just east of Oshawa.

The girl had just left a birthday party when she went missing at about 1:30 a.m. Residents heard her screaming for help behind the high school about 50 minutes later.

When officers arrived at the school, a red van was seen fleeing the scene. Police chased the vehicle but abandoned the pursuit because of safety reasons. The van was later found abandoned in Oshawa.

Natalie also learned Thursday that Tippett was having an affair with another woman who is now pregnant, CTV Toronto's John Musselman reported.

Resident Margaret Cassidy said the pregnant woman is her friend. Cassidy said Tippett lied to the woman and never mentioned his family.

"I'm very disgusted with him ... and devastated," Tippett's wife Natalie said.

Tippett's mother, Susan Anderson, also attended Thursday's court hearing. She told reporters she doesn't believe her son's story about being abducted.

"It makes me stick to my stomach," Anderson said. "He needs professional help. There is something wrong with him, he's not normal."

During Tippett's brief court appearance, he mouthed the words "I love you" to his wife. He appeared distressed, constantly rubbing his hands over his face, Musselman reported.

Natalie said her husband was born with treachers collins syndrome, which affects his breathing and causes some facial deformity. He is currently on disability.

Tippett was remanded into custody and will appear in court on Monday for a bail hearing. He was given a list of dozen people he cannot contact, including his wife.

A publication ban prevents the media from reporting evidence presented at Thursday's proceeding.

Cold case squad reopening file

Meanwhile, the Toronto police cold case squad said they are taking another look at the 1999 homicide of 15-year-old Sharmini Anandavel.

Tippett was one of the prime suspects in the murder of the North York teenager. No charges were ever laid in the killing, which remains unsolved.

Sharmini went missing in June 1999 after leaving her Don Mills Road apartment. She was on her way to the first day of her new job with a telemarketing company -- that police later determined didn't exist -- when she disappeared. Her skeletal remains were found in a ravine four months later.

Tippett denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance, but told investigators he knew Sharmini and had helped her get a job. He also said he had driven her and other children to a swimming pool in the past.

Tippett has previous convictions for criminally harassing women, and has spent time in prison for the acts.

With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman