A Twitter user has narrated how he landed in jail after reporting the case of a man sexually molesting a toddler.
Matthew Hahn said, as a serial burglar, he broke into the home of one Robert Aitken, 22, in 2005 at Los Gatos, California in the United States, and stole a safe, but what he discovered in the stolen safe broke his heart even as a thief.
He found a memory card containing photographs of Aitken molesting a girl who was said to be only a year old.
Matthew narrated his ordeal on Twitter while responding to a viral question asking Twitter users to share their true story that looks like a lie.
Aidan Moher who tweeted the question wrote:
“Tell me a story about yourself the sounds like a lie but is absolutely true.”
Matthew quoted the tweet and shared his story that has since gone viral on the microblogging site.
He tweeted:
“I once burglarized a home and stole a safe. I cracked the safe and discovered photos of the owner molesting a child. He reported the burglary to police. I turned the photos in. The cops called him in to discuss the burglary. He confessed. We both went to prison.”
In another podcast where he shared his story, Matthew said he had been previously convicted of burglary more than once and the memory card on which he discovered the photos came from a stolen safe.
He knew being nabbed for another crime could make him a three-striker and send him to prison for life. But the images were too disturbing for him not to take action.
After a sleepless night, he said he 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 exhibit in a package that he kept into a random mailbox and addressed it to the Los Gatos Police Department.
When police got the package on March 1, they moved quickly, fearing for the safety of the child in the photos and two days after they invited Aitken for questioning.
Court records said responding police and Aitken’s friends noticed that he seemed extraordinarily anxious about the theft.
When police searched Aitken’s apartment, they found one of the little girl’s dresses. A computer forensic search found thousands of pornographic images — including more than 100 that were identified as illegal child pornography.
Matthew was arrested April 8, 2005, for unrelated crimes and it was at that point he confessed to stealing a safe from Aitken’s home and agreed to testify in court against the child molester.
After a plea bargain, “I got 14 years 4 months for a bunch of burglaries. He got 30 years,” he said.
Matthew added:
“My story hit the media in May of 2006. I was in a cell and wasn’t able to witness the public discourse that took place. I only heard about it from family & guards. Now, I’m getting a taste of itAnd for those asking, yes, there were also dirty diapers in the safe.
I didn’t know he’d reported it until the following year.
A Twitter asked him:
“I’d love to know who got the longer sentence though.”
Matthew said:
“I was originally facing 400 years to life. He was facing 25 to life. I took a plea bargain for 14 years 4 months. After I agreed to testify that I possessed the safe, he took a plea bargain for 30 years. He’s eligible for parole in a couple of years.”
See his tweet:
I once burglarized a home & stole a safe. I cracked the safe & discovered photos of the owner molesting a child. He reported the burglary to police. I turned the photos in. The cops called him in to discuss the burglary. He confessed. We both went to prison. https://t.co/yxpFN30qgv
— Matthew Hahn (@hahnscratch) January 7, 2020
