A rapist who abducted a teenage girl at knifepoint tried to escape while being led towards a waiting prison van outside court.
Aaron Strachan, 21, stalked his 15-year-old victim through Edinburgh on 25 May 2025, and threatened to harm her while brandishing a knife. He later forcibly led her to a basement storage area where he raped her.
Footage released by the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service shows Strachan walking between two guards towards a van after leaving the Court of Session in January.
He then yanked his hands free from the cuffs and fled. Police launched a major search, and he was recaptured in the city a few hours later.
Strachan’s lawyer said the escape attempt had been “a moment of impulsiveness”, after he noticed the cuffs were “not tight enough to prevent him from removing his hand”.
Strachan pleaded guilty to the rape and two assaults on December 4 2025, and on Monday (27 July) pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
Judge Michael O’Grady KC imposed an order for lifelong restriction on Strachan with a minimum period of five years in custody, telling him he may never be released.
