Paul Quinn sentenced over 2003 rape linked to Andrew Malkinson

Paul Quinn is being sentenced at Manchester Crown Court for the 2003 rape of a young mother in Salford, Greater Manchester, a case that led to Andrew Malkinson spending 17 years in prison after a wrongful conviction. Quinn was found guilty in April of rape, strangulation and grievous bodily harm.

The woman told the court in a victim impact statement that she lived in constant fear that someone was behind her and that it was one night that changed her life. Mr Justice Bright said she was a remarkable person and a hero.

Manchester Crown Court sentencing

Quinn attacked the woman as she walked home in July 2003. Mr Justice Bright said he followed her for at least 0.9 miles, a route a policeman walked in 16 minutes, before he pounced as she reached the bridge.

The judge said Quinn raced at her from behind and bundled her off the road down a steep embankment. He threatened her again and took her phone when she tried to use it to get help, then strangled her until she passed out.

Andrew Malkinson case

Malkinson was convicted in 2003 after being picked out at a police identity parade. He spent 17 years in prison, was released in 2020 and had his conviction quashed in 2023.

Quinn was arrested in 2022 after advances in DNA testing produced a billion-to-one match with saliva left on the victim's top. That evidence linked the attack to Quinn years after Malkinson had already served most of his sentence.

Victim impact statement

Mr Justice Bright said two witnesses saw the woman and a man following her twice, and that Quinn was about 30 seconds behind her when they saw them the first time. The details set out in court show how the case turned on a mistaken identification first, then DNA evidence later.

For Malkinson, the sentence closes one part of a case that kept him in prison for 17 years. For the victim, the court heard the attack began with a short walk home in Salford and ended with consequences that lasted decades.