- Aaron Strachan, 21, was given an order for lifelong restriction, with a minimum of five years in custody, and told he may never be released, for the abduction and rape of a 15-year-old girl and two unprovoked assaults.
- Strachan stalked the teenager, threatened her with a knife, and forcibly led her to a basement in York Place, Edinburgh, where he raped her on May 25 last year, an act the judge described as a "truly bestial crime."
- On the same day as the rape, Strachan stabbed a man in an unprovoked attack in South Bridge, and three days later, on May 28, he attacked another man with a metal hammer in High Riggs, causing a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
- Earlier this year, Strachan escaped from a prison van while being led from the Court of Session, prompting a major police search before he was recaptured in Edinburgh a few hours later.
- Strachan pleaded guilty to the rape and two assaults on December 4 2025, and later admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice, with the judge noting his "concerning" criminal record of 18 previous court appearances for 38 charges.
IN FULL
