Second life term for murderer who abducted 15-year-old girl in Altrincham
Paul Sharpe was described by the judge as “every parent’s worst nightmare”
A convicted murderer has received a second life jail term for the knifepoint kidnap in broad daylight of a 15-year-old girl who he went on to sexually assault.
Paul Sharpe, 56, described by the sentencing judge as “every parent’s worst nightmare”, put his victim in a chokehold and bundled her into his car in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, on the early evening of May 18.
The teenager was walking home when she came into the “cruel orbit” of Sharpe, who “cruised the streets” looking for a young girl to abduct, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
She was kept captive in his car for eight-and-a-half hours before she was rescued by police the following day.
In fear that she was going to be raped and murdered, she showed “an astonishing presence of mind” to tear out strands of hair to provide DNA proof she had been in the vehicle, the court was told.
Sharpe, of Portswood, Stockport, was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of an ex-partner who he strangled in October 2000. He was ordered to serve a minimum term of 11 years and was released on licence in April 2013.
Months before the abduction, Sharpe used his mobile phone to record acts of apparent reconnaissance while he drove, said prosecutor Alaric Bassano.
In one such recording, a male voice declared “the abduction point would be here”, the court heard, while Sharpe went on to search on his phone for locations of secondary schools.
Sharpe initially sought to “fob off” his teenage victim with a fictitious story that he had been asked to take her as her father owed someone money.
He asked her lots of questions about herself in an apparent attempt to calm her down, said Mr Bassano, and she obliged “in the hope that by giving herself a personality the defendant would be less likely to harm her”.
Mr Bassano said: “It was impressive reasoning for a young person in her circumstances but an early indication of the fear which she harboured.”
Sharpe bound her wrists and ankles with neck ties as he drove to various secluded car parks.
He removed her socks and began touching and smelling her feet before he retrieved a pair of brand new high heel shoes from his boot and put them on her along with some stockings.
Sharpe also masturbated as he touched her feet.
The defendant made numerous attempts to force her to drink a “yellowy liquid” which she, at times, pretended to consume, the court was told.
Mr Bassano said: “During her imprisonment (the victim) feared that she was going to die, a fear which prompted her to deliberately deposit her DNA in the car to assist police in any subsequent murder investigation.
“She placed her nasal mucus on various parts of the car interior as well as pulling out and leaving behind strands of her hair.”
Police were first alerted when a dog walker reported hearing a young female crying in a church car park in Knutsford and an older male stating “take a drink”.
The vehicle had gone by the time officers arrived but was later traced to a hotel car park in Knutsford, where the teenager emerged “visibly shaken” and “shocked”, and Sharpe was arrested.
The defendant told detectives he had not planned the kidnap and was “overwhelmed because he had no electricity at home”, was on the verge of receiving a driving ban and had resigned his job.
He added he wanted to talk to a stranger before he killed himself.
Sharpe pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to various offences including kidnap, kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence and sexual assault.
Sentencing, Judge Mark Savill told him: “The facts of this case are chilling. To describe (the victim’s) experience at your hands as an appalling ordeal would be wholly inadequate.
“You cruised the streets in your car with the clear purpose of finding a female school child to abduct in order to fulfil your particular sexual fantasies.
“What is remarkable about this case is not merely the nature of your conduct but the courage of your victim. Faced with such dreadful circumstances she showed astonishing presence of mind as she deliberately left traces of DNA in your car.
“Simply put, the reason she did this was because she thought she was going to be raped and murdered by you.
“Few adults would have displayed such presence of mind and it is impossible not to be impressed by her bravery.
“(The victim) is a giant. You are anything but.
“You, Paul Sharpe, are every parent’s worst nightmare.
“I have no hesitation in concluding you are a very dangerous offender. You carefully planned to specifically target a child in order to fulfil sinister and entrenched sexual preferences. – years after apparent compliance.
“You cannot control yourself and your urges whether they be sexual or homicidal.”
He was ordered to serve a minimum of eight years in jail before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board.
In her victim personal statement, the teenager said she suffers from panic, anxiety, sleeplessness and nighmares following “the worst eight hours of my life”.