SCOTS PAEDOPHILES ROBERT AITMAN AND PAUL HANNAH EXCHANGE INCRIMINATING LETTERS BEHIND BARS IN GLASGOW
Paul Hannah, aged 37, and Robert Aitman, aged 35, who had previously shared a cell before being housed in separate prisons, engaged in a disturbing exchange of letters while incarcerated.Both had been convicted of child sexual offences and were subject to strict Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO).
Despite these restrictions, over nearly seven months in 2020, they secretly continued to communicate via written correspondence.
During a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, parts of these letters many too graphic to reproduce were read aloud.
Hannah wrote about harming a child and arranging to "snuff a kid" and "dispose" of the body.
He also urged Aitman to persuade a judge that he was "not a danger." Conversely, Aitman mentioned going online to chat with people who have kids and expressed nostalgia for being Hannah’s "co-pilot." Both men pleaded guilty to breaching their SOPO, which explicitly forbade any contact with other sex offenders.
Prosecutor Adrian Stalker explained that Hannah claimed the first COVID-19 lockdown had left him feeling "isolated," which he cited as the reason for initiating the correspondence with Aitman.
Both offenders are currently remanded in custody until sentencing scheduled for next month.
Hannah, who was originally jailed in 2017 for possessing indecent images of children, was imposed with a SOPO a year later.
Aitman, also known as McNab, received the same order in 2020 following prior convictions involving child pornography and related offences, which led to his imprisonment.
In late 2020, staff at Low Moss Prison in Bishopbriggs, where Aitman was held, uncovered letters detailing sexual offences.
Five letters addressed to Aitman from Hannah were confiscated, along with five letters written by Aitman and found in Hannah’s Barlinnie cell.
These letters were exchanged between May 25, 2020, and December 5, 2020.
During the first reading, Mr.
Stalker highlighted an exchange where Hannah asked if Aitman was still interested in "getting together" after their release.
Aitman replied that he had spoken with "a couple of women" who, he claimed, might have his children.
He suggested they consider moving to Paisley or nearby so they wouldn’t be far apart and reminisced about the idea of going online to talk with people who have children, expressing that he missed being Hannah’s "co-pilot." Hannah then urged Aitman to try and convince a judge that he was "not a danger," mentioning both men’s past media coverage and proposing that they "move away" and "change your name." The correspondence also discussed children, with Hannah contemplating how to remove any "evidence," and asking Aitman directly, "How do you feel about that?" referring to harming a child.
Hannah’s lawyer, Sean Templeton, stated that his client was now "thoroughly ashamed" of the writings.
He explained that the messages from May 2020 coincided with the first COVID lockdown, which left Hannah feeling "isolated" and "alone," and that this was the motivation behind his outreach.
John Brannigan, defending Aitman, acknowledged that the content of the letters was of "grave concern." Lord Beckett has deferred sentencing to next month to allow for reports to be prepared.
