'I wasn’t being silenced' - Powerful new documentary reveals how women brought predator to justice
Survivors of speak out about campaign of violence and abuse
A group of women who were coercively controlled and abused by a serial rapist have spoken out about his years-long campaign of depravity, and recalled the “panic” and “terror” of bringing him to justice in court.
In a powerful new BBC documentary which offers a candid insight into coercive and controlling behaviour, as well as the experience of rape survivors going through Scotland’s criminal justice system, the women have waived their anonymity to reveal how they had become an “extended family” and were able to “break his power” by being together.
Aaron Swan, from Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in November 2023 of four counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of abusive behaviour between 2013 and 2020. The court heard how raped two women on the same night, and psychologically manipulated one of his victims and monitored her movements
In May 2024, he was sentenced at the High Court in Inverness to six years in prison and given an Order for Lifelong Restriction for what the judge, Lord Weir, described as the “violent, manipulative, self-centred and sinister behaviour” he had shown in domestic and family relationships.
Now, four women who suffered at the hands of Swan have shared their stories as part of the feature length film in the hope it can help other people who are trapped in an abusive relationship. The documentary also raises questions over how Swan was able to commit his crimes, having twice been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Swan was ultimately convicted after three women he raped - Jenni, Shannon, and Robyn - all gave evidence in court. The latter decided to go to the police after attending Own My Life, course devised by Natalie Collins, Swan’s first wife, who made her own allegation of rape against him in 2006 only to be left devastated after a jury returned a not guilty verdict.
Their extraordinary and harrowing story details Swan’s predatory behaviour, with two of the attacks taking place in Jenni’s house when he raped her and Shannon just hours apart after they had been celebrating Jenni and Swan getting engaged.
Shannon recalled: “He entered the room, crouched down and kissed me. The next thing that I remember was trying to push him off me, but my arms were pinned down, and he was repeatedly saying, ‘You can’t tell anyone about this, otherwise the wedding will be off, and it’ll be your fault’.
“As a female growing up, you always have an idea in your mind of how you would react in that scenario - if anything like that was to happen, it’s down a dark alley really late at night, not in your best friend’s house, and the attacker is your best friend’s fiancée.”
That same night, Swan attacked Jenni, whom he initially befriended on Facebook when she was just 16 and he was 24. Recalling the 2009 rape, she said: “I was woken up by Aaron having sex with me, and it didn’t feel real, and him saying to me, ‘I’ve just had sex with Shannon’. I was convinced I was asleep, to the extent I needed to wake up. I remember him getting really annoyed with me.”
After losing contact with one another, it was only in 2021 that Shannon and Jenni finally learned the full truth of what had happened that night. By then, Jenni had already reported Swan to police for the rape, but he had been released pending further investigation. Shannon’s evidence proved key to helping bring their attacker to justice.
“The police managed to finally build a case against him with mine and Shannon’s statements matching up from that night,” Jenni said. “It felt like there was more of a chance he wouldn’t get away with it like he had done this whole time.”
Robyn, who was raped by Swan in her own home, said she was initially unwilling to tell the police anything, despite being informed about his arrest for attacking Shannon. “I wasn’t ready to share that information with anyone,” she said. “I wasn’t ready to share it with myself.”
Eventually, however, the experience of attending the Own My Life course made her realise she needed and wanted to report what had happened to the authorities. “I knew that he had hurt so many women and that he was going to continue to do it to every person he came across if someone didn’t do something about it,” she reasoned.
The film, ‘Lover, Liar, Predator’, also features a contribution from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Dawn Samson, who described Robyn’s evidence as "incredibly important,” given it detailed acts “very similar in facts and circumstances” as those relayed by Jenni and Shannon.
Even so, the experience of giving evidence in court was fraught for all three women. Jenni said she was “terrified” at first, and Robyn described the “panic” she felt before giving her testimony, but together, they found the strength to recall the abuse they had suffered.
“I wanted to face him and show him I wasn’t scared of him anymore,” Jenni said. “I was going to tell people what he had done, that I wasn’t being silenced by him any more.”
Ms Collins, whose course has helped over 20,000 women regain their lives after abuse, was also in court to support the three women, and celebrated with them after the jury read out their verdicts. “There was a part of my heart that was hurting all day, every day,” she explained. “The fact he’s causing no more pain in the world just makes my life so much better.”
Jenni added: “After such awful events, it’s really incredible to know that we’ve got this extended family that we’re all part of, and supporting each other through everything.”
‘Lover, Liar, Predator’ will be shown on the BBC Scotland channel on Sunday 1 February at 9pm, and on BBC Two at 9pm on Monday. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
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