Two friends who were raped by a Scottish serial predator on the night they celebrated his engagement to one of them have revealed how a chance text message after eight years finally helped put him behind bars. The women have courageously spoken out a year after convicted sex offender and domestic abuser Aaron Swan was jailed indefinitely, with neither victim believing he will ever be safe for release.
Years of Coercive Control and Abuse
One of the women, identified only as Jenni, endured years of coercive and controlling abuse at the hands of Swan, who was already a convicted sex offender when he targeted the vulnerable 16-year-old online. Despite a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a call to police from her concerned family, he managed to whisk the teenager – almost a decade his junior – nearly 200 miles from her home in Sheffield to Jedburgh, in Roxburgh.
There, she was manipulated, coerced, had her movements tracked, was threatened, raped, and ultimately left fearing for her life. He even threatened to take his own life when she attempted to leave him. Jenni and three other victims – one of whom made her own allegation of rape while married to Swan five years before he targeted Jenni – now share their stories in a new BBC documentary titled Lover, Liar, Predator.
A Unified Front for Justice
Aaron Swan was handed an Order of Lifelong Restriction with a minimum of six years in jail after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences against three women. The show airs on February 1, detailing his depravity and subsequent conviction after all four women joined forces to help secure a unanimous guilty verdict. This saw him jailed for a minimum of six years last May, with the Order of Lifelong Restriction meaning he will be monitored for the rest of his life should he ever be allowed out on parole.
Sentencing the now 40-year-old Swan, who also has a previous conviction for possessing indecent images of children, at the High Court in Inverness, Judge Lord Weir said his victims’ combined evidence illustrated his capacity for violent, manipulative, self-centred and, frankly, sinister behaviour.
The Turning Point: A Chance Text Message
Police initially stated there was not enough evidence to charge Swan with raping Jenni when she reported him in 2019, and he was released pending further investigations. However, a year-and-a-half later, a text from her friend Shannon set the wheels in motion – eight years after the women last spoke.
The women’s friendship ended after they had been celebrating Jenni’s engagement in 2013 when Swan raped Shannon in the spare room she was sleeping in. He then did the same to his wife-to-be before claiming he had consensual sex with her friend, sparking the fallout. But on the off chance in 2021, Shannon noticed Jenni’s social media page showed she no longer appeared to be with Swan and decided to reach out, telling her what really happened.
Building a Profile of a Dangerous Predator
This prompted both women to give statements to the police, allowing officers to put together a profile of the dangerous predator. With the help of his first wife, Natalie, who now runs a programme to assist other victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, they also encouraged another one of his victims – targeted while in a relationship with Jenni – to come forward.
The woman, known only as Robyn, told the documentary he had such a hold over her that she was left with no money and no keys. On one occasion, he even locked her outside in sub-zero temperatures.
Previous Acquittal and Ongoing Fear
Swan’s first wife Natalie said she was terrified when a jury found him not guilty in 2005 after she alleged he violently raped her, giving birth to their son prematurely just days later. She told the programme: Having this tiny, very sick baby who was having his lungs artificially pumped by a ventilator, all the time I was just thinking this is Aaron’s fault, there needs to be some consequence.
I wasn’t reporting the rape because I wanted to report it for me, I was reporting it because he had done this to our son. But after he was found not guilty, she said: I felt terrified that he would be able to go on and harm more people.
Escalating Violence and a Final Warning
Years later, after Jenni threatened to leave Swan, he strangled her and pinned her up against a car, telling his sister the only way I will get over Jenni is if I kill her. The now 32-year-old admitted hearing those words was the turning point. She said: I panicked at that point. I knew that if I didn’t do something, I could see how it was going to end and me potentially being killed by him.
Looking at all his past relationships, it is a pattern of behaviour, and I don’t think he will ever change. Shannon added: I don’t think he wants to change. I don’t think he sees an issue with how he treats women, and I hope he never gets out because I know he would just do it again.
Fighting for Justice to Protect Others
The women admitted that it was the fear of him harming other women that pushed them to fight for justice. They also believe that had police or social services intervened sooner, as he had two previous convictions, it could have changed the course of what happened to us.
Last May, Swan was found guilty of six charges between 2013 and 2020, including domestic abuse, sexual assault, and four incidents of rape against three separate women, two of whom were his partners at the time. Lover, Liar, Predator airs on BBC Scotland on February 1 and on BBC Two the following day, highlighting the bravery of these victims in their pursuit of justice.
