Man jailed over brutal rape in Salford in 2003
An innocent man wrongly served 17 years behind bars for the attack
Last updated 1 day ago
A man who evaded justice for more than two decades has been sentenced after being convicted of a brutal rape and assault in Greater Manchester.
Paul Quinn, now 52, was handed a sentence of 24 years at Manchester Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape, inflicting grievous bodily harm and choking with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The case related to an attack on a woman in Little Hulton in the early hours of 19 July 2003.
The court heard how Quinn, who was 29 at the time, followed the victim as she walked home alone between 4am and 5am. He then tackled her down an embankment and launched a violent assault, choking her until she lost consciousness, raping her twice, biting her and fracturing her cheek.
After stealing her phone to prevent her calling for help, Quinn left the scene, leaving the victim seriously injured.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment, including surgery for her fractured cheek, before undergoing a forensic examination. Samples collected at the time were retained, allowing scientists to re-examine the evidence as DNA technology advanced over the following years.
The original investigation into the attack, in the summer of 2003, wrongly led police to the arrest and prosecute innocent Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison before clearing his name at the Court of Appeal in 2023.
Greater Manchester Police say they "remain deeply sorry" to the victim, and Mr Malkinson, as the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice, for failing to bring the true attacker to justice until now.
Today’s verdicts bring an end to an investigation launched in 2022 when DNA samples from our original investigation, which returned no forensic hits at the time, came back to forensically match Quinn.
Prosecutors said those developments proved crucial in identifying Quinn as the attacker.
During the investigation, evidence was also heard from Quinn's former partner, who told the court he regularly shaved his chest during the summer months. She recalled him returning home without a shirt on during the night of the attack.
When arrested in December 2022, Quinn denied knowing the victim and suggested he had been involved with many women at the time. After being confronted with DNA evidence, he claimed any contact could have been part of a consensual encounter he could not remember.
However, prosecutors said Quinn could provide no credible explanation for how his DNA came to be found on the victim and her clothing.
Further evidence showed Quinn had repeatedly searched online for news articles about the Little Hulton rape years after the attack, as well as information about DNA evidence and how long samples could be retained by police.