A “truly bestial crime”. This is the moment a rapist slips off his handcuffs and escapes custody outside the High Court in Edinburgh. CCTV footage outside the court shows Aaron Strachan running away after his sentencing was adjourned on 13 January 2026. Police recaptured him a few hours later. The court was told Strachan, 21, was like a “wild animal stalking its prey” when he abducted a 15-year-old girl before taking her to his basement “lair” and attacking her. On Monday, Stratchan was given an indefinite sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of five years before he can be considered for parole. His name was also indefinitely added to the sex offenders registry. Stratchan admitted a charge of rape in December 2025 along with repeatedly stabbing a man on the hand just hours before the sex attack. He further pleaded guilty to a second assault after striking another man on the head with a claw hammer on 28 May 2025 leaving him “semi-conscious” on the ground and suffering seizures. Stratchan approached the teenager as she waited for a bus during the early hours of 25 May 2025. Stratchan, who was wearing a balaclava, followed the teen after she walked off and then threatened her with a knife. Judge Michael O'Grady KC told Strachan his actions were “the stuff of nightmares for every woman and every young girl, and every parent who waits at home for their child to return home safely”. Strachan's lawyer told the court his client had made an impulsive decision to escape after realising his handcuffs were not “tight enough to prevent him from removing his hand”. At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, a judge told Strachan that he may never be released from prison. “The word predatory is perhaps overused in these courts, but it is an inescapable adjective to describe this truly bestial crime,” he said. “You left your lair and went out hunting for a vulnerable victim. Finding one, you stalked her, threatened her at knifepoint and took her to a dingy basement and raped her.” Stachan had appeared in court on 18 previous occasions in relation to 38 separate charges. The judge told him: “You are likely to remain in prison for many years, if indeed you are ever released.” #5news #escape #Scotland - @c5news