Aaron Strachan, 21, was sentenced to an Order for Lifelong Restriction after admitting raping a 15-year-old girl at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday. The court heard how Strachan preyed on the victim in the city centre during the early hours of May 25 last year, pulling a knife on her at a bus stop before forcing her to a basement where he blocked the doors and carried out the attack.
Victim's father speaks of pain
The victim's father said his once happy daughter now tells her family she feels "it would be better if she wasn't here anymore." Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the girl's heartbroken father said: "The last year for us all as a family has been really hard. She can't sleep, she was having flashbacks, she was going out at night, she was drinking and taking all sorts of drugs - possibly to block this out. She didn't want to live, she thought it would be better if she wasn't here anymore. She said I wish he killed me rather than me having to live like this."
He added: "We can't get images of our daughter scared and in pain out of our heads. She used to be so happy, and he has taken this away from her."
Details of the attack
CCTV footage showed Strachan in a tracksuit with his hood up lurking behind the girl in different parts of the city centre as she tried to flee. The schoolgirl had been waiting at a bus stop when Strachan, wearing a balaclava, approached her. She walked towards Princes Street but Strachan continued to follow her before running towards her as she sat at another bus stop. Brandishing a knife, he threatened the teenager, grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to a basement on York Place. Inside, he blocked the door with wooden pallets and raped her. The attacker, who had never met his victim before, was identified after DNA was recovered from the scene.
Other crimes and escape
Strachan also pleaded guilty to repeatedly stabbing a man in the hand during an unprovoked knife attack hours before the rape, and to striking another man on the head with a claw hammer on May 28. His sentencing was delayed before he escaped from custody on January 13 while leaving court in Edinburgh, triggering a police search before he was caught a short time later.
Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offences Faye Cook said: "Aaron Strachan's actions in abducting his victim before raping her were calculated, predatory, and caused profound harm. Although this type of stranger offending is rare, this conviction reflects the gravity of his crimes and the commitment of prosecutors and police to bring him to justice."
