Overman was arrested Monday night after the FBI’s lab linked him to the crime through DNA that the perpetrator left behind.
The Times-News described Overman as openly weeping during his first court appearance on Tuesday. He repeatedly told the court that the incident did not occur “the way it sounds,” the newspaper reported.
"I wish somebody could speak for me, because it looks like I'm a monster, and I'm not," Overman said. "I didn't do this. It wasn't like this. She knows it."
Alamance County District Attorney Pat Nadolski said during the court hearing that Overman confessed to having sex with the girl, the Times-News reported. Calling Overman a flight risk because of the seriousness of the charges, and the fact that he could be sentenced to life in prison, the prosecutor sought a $1 million bond.
Nadolski called Overman a threat to the community and the victim, as well as to himself. Overman attempted suicide in the jail early Tuesday morning, authorities said.
Authorities said he tried to cut himself with a plastic toothpaste cap, the Times-News reported.
The judge raised Overman’s bail amount from $75,000 to $200,000.
Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson told local media that Overman has an extensive criminal history.
"When you've got a man with six past felony convictions, and I don't know how many misdemeanor convictions, that has sex with an 11-year-old, he should never see daylight, in my opinion," Johnson said, according to the Times-News.
Alamance County Sheriff’s Office investigators were first alerted to the crime on the morning of Oct. 11. Nadolski and Johnson both said that the girl was waiting for her school bus when Overman drove up, got out of his car and forced her inside.
The News & Record in Greensboro reported at the time of the crime that the girl told authorities her alleged kidnapper drove her to an area near the Orange County line and sexually assaulted her.
The girl's younger brother, who was also at the bus stop, ran for help, and deputies from Alamance and Orange counties began to search for her, the Times-News reported Tuesday. The girl later told investigators that after assaulting her, Overman heard the sirens and got momentarily distracted.
She told authorities that she was able to escape and flag down a woman who was driving by. The woman drove the girl to where deputies were assembling.
Investigators spent three months following leads in the case, and the Sheriff's Office teamed up with the Alamance County Crime Stoppers to offer a $5,000 reward for information, the News & Record reported. The break that authorities needed came last week when the DNA results came back from the FBI lab.
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