Aaron Strachan, 21, has been jailed under an order for lifelong restriction after abducting a 15-year-old girl from an Edinburgh city centre bus stop and raping her in a basement storage area in May last year. The High Court in Edinburgh also heard that he attacked two men in separate incidents and had a criminal record involving violence, robbery and weapons.
Strachan was sentenced to a minimum of five years with an order for lifelong restriction, or OLR, meaning a parole board will decide whether he is ever safe to be released. Judge Michael O'Grady described the crimes as the "stuff of nightmares" and said he expected Strachan to be in custody or under supervision for the rest of his life.
Strachan admitted raping the girl and charges of serious assault against two male victims in December last year.
The court heard that Strachan, wearing a balaclava, approached the 15-year-old at a bus stop on Lothian Road in the early hours of 25 May last year. Feeling uneasy, she walked to Princes Street to get away from him.
She stopped at a bus stop outside the Marks and Spencer shop, but Strachan accosted her, demanded that she hand over her phone and told her "not to scream".
"not to scream"
He then produced a knife and threatened her before grabbing her by the shoulders and marching her towards York Place, occasionally stopping to cover her eyes.
Strachan forced her down a set of steps to a basement area littered with wooden pallets and crates.
He took her into a room strewn with rubbish, forced her onto a mattress on a makeshift bed and raped her. Strachan warned her not to tell anyone about the attack or he would find her and hurt her.
He was caught days later after being spotted on a street by police officers.
Strachan, a former athlete with Edinburgh Athletic Club, also admitted repeatedly stabbing a man on the hand with a knife, causing severe injury, hours before the rape. He further pleaded guilty to attacking another man on the head with a claw hammer to the danger of his life on 28 May.
He was brought to the High Court for sentencing on 13 January this year, but fled the GEOAmey escort while being moved to a waiting vehicle.
"that's ridiculous"
Faye Cook, procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offences, said Strachan's actions were "calculated, predatory, and caused profound harm".
"calculated, predatory, and caused profound harm"
She added: "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."
"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."
Judge O'Grady said the minimum term of five years, passed down in line with sentencing guidelines, did not mean Strachan would be released after that period. He said it was "highly improbable" that Strachan's issues with violence and his mental disorder would be addressed in jail.
The victim's family, who were in court for the sentencing, shouted "that's ridiculous" when the OLR was handed down.
What is an order for lifelong restriction?
OLRs, introduced in 2006, are unique to Scotland and are designed to serve as life sentences for serious sexual and violent offenders. They are imposed if it is believed that a prisoner has shown a pattern of behaviour which could escalate and seriously endanger the public if they were at liberty.
A judge will order an offender to serve a minimum period in jail. Once that term has been completed, offenders remain in prison until the parole board decides they can be freed.
Only a fraction of those who have received these sentences have ever been freed.
Critics of the sentence have described it as "inhumane and degrading".
But victim support campaigners argue the orders are "an essential element of Scotland's justice system".
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