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HMA v Aaron Bambrick
Jun 16, 2026
Upon sentencing, Lord Harrower made the following remarks:
"Aaron Bambrick, you have been convicted of two charges: firstly, of indecent communication with a 14 year old girl, contrary to section 7(1) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009; and secondly of having sexual intercourse with a different 15 year old girl contrary to s28 of the 2009 Act.
I will refer to the two girls as Amy and Jane, though obviously those are not their real names.
Charge 1
Amy was 14. You were a friend of the family. On various occasions over a period of four months you communicated with her via Snapchat, during which she told you she was excited about her upcoming 15th birthday. You told her she was beautiful, that you wanted to kiss her, and that you wanted to 'shag' her. She said 'N'” straight away. She didn’t understand why you were saying these things. The fact that you were so much older made her feel uncomfortable. She said she was scared. On several occasions, you said you would kill yourself if she didn’t meet you. Fortunately, she had the good sense to remove you as a friend from her Snapchat account. In cross-examination, you accused her of lying. Your position now, according to the social work report prepared for this hearing, appears to be that you simply cannot remember these communications. It was obvious from the manner in which Amy gave her evidence, over three years after all communication between you had ceased, that what you did continues to cause her great distress.
Charge 3
Jane was a school-friend of Amy’s. You started to communicate with her via Snapchat. According to her evidence, which the jury must have accepted, you asked her how old she was, and she told you. You indicated that you were prone to having suicidal thoughts, and had previously been admitted to a well-known local ward for patients with poor mental health. One day, you messaged her, asking what she was doing after school. You had indicated that you were contemplating suicide and needed to see someone. Jane told you that you could come over to her place. Her mother was out. Once there you had sexual intercourse with her in her bedroom. Jane has provided a statement in which she describes the psychological impact your offending has had upon her.
Discussion
I must assess the seriousness of your offending by reference to culpability and harm.
The content of your texts to Amy, accompanied as they were with threats to kill yourself, were clearly intended to induce her to meet you and have sexual intercourse with you. After Amy blocked you on Snapchat, you simply transferred your attentions to her friend Jane. There was a significant age gap of 7 or 8 years between you and both girls. Each of your offences was part of a single course of criminal behaviour, in which you acted with a significant degree of premeditation, targeting underage girls with a view to inducing them to have sexual intercourse with you.
Sentence
Mr Bambrick, you are now 25 years’ old, and I take account of the fact that you were 22 at the time these offences were committed. You come before the court to all intents and purposes as a first offender. There has been a significant period of desistance since these offences were committed. I have taken account of everything ably submitted on your behalf by Mr Crowe, and of all the material before me. The social worker has set out the non-custodial options available to the court. However, I have come to the conclusion that your offending is sufficiently serious as to require the imposition of a significant prison sentence.
I will therefore sentence you as follows.
In respect of charges one and three, I sentence you in cumulo to a period of imprisonment of 3 years, beginning from today.
As a result of the sentence imposed, you will be subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 indefinitely.
Finally, I will make non-harassment orders, in terms of which you will not approach, contact, or attempt to approach or contact, in any way whatsoever, and either directly or indirectly, the complainers named in the charges on the indictment, those orders to subsist for an indefinite period."
16 June 2026