Thief Risks Three-Strikes Life Term To Reveal Stolen Evidence Against Pedophile

Now here's a case for executive clemency:

Matthew Ryan Hahn glared in disbelief at the digital photographs of a man molesting a girl. She was only a year old, maybe 2.

The next thing to do would be obvious -- call police. But Hahn had been convicted of burglary more than once. And the memory card on which he discovered the photos came from a stolen safe.

Hahn knew being nabbed for another crime could make him a three-striker and send him to prison for life. But the images were burned into his mind. One photo showed some freshly overturned earth -- could the little girl already have been killed and buried?

After a sleepless night, Hahn took the card, placed it inside a pink change purse and attached a typewritten note. It said: ``Please remove this animal from the streets.''

He wrapped the whole thing in a package that he jammed into a random mailbox. It was addressed to the Los Gatos Police Department.

A year later, Hahn, 26, is in Elmwood correctional facility. Housed in the next building over, in protective custody, is John ``Robbie'' Robertson Aitken. The 22-year-old with no previous criminal record is charged with molesting his infant goddaughter -- his boss's child.

This is the story of two young Los Gatos men, both facing life in prison, and how one's crime may have halted the other's.

``There is honor among thieves,'' said Dana Overstreet, who is prosecuting Aitken. ``In my case, Hahn is a hero.''

Hahn won't admit he burglarized the safe-- he just says he got the camera's memory stick... somehow. He's up on 12 counts of buglary, possession of stolen property, and grand theft (for other criminal acts, not the instant one).

Thanks to Darwins Moustache, who has also been banned.

posted by Ace at 01:22 PM

| Access Comments