A rapist who watched on as an innocent man spent 17 years in jail for a crime he did not commit has finally faced justice.

Paul Quinn, 52, has been found guilty of raping a 33-year-old mother-of-two after he stalked and followed her, before dragging her down an embankment at the side of a motorway and brutally attacking her.

She was knocked unconscious after being strangled. The woman was left bloodied and bruised in the early hours of July 19, 2003 off Cleggs Lane in Little Hulton, near the M61.

On Friday (April 17), Quinn, of Whipton Barton Road, Exeter, was found guilty of two counts of rape and well as inflicting GBH and a charge of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with intent.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

Andrew Malkinson – a wholly innocent man – was prosecuted the following year. He spent 17 years in prison before being released.

It was only in 2023 that he was finally cleared following a long campaign and several failed appeals.

Speaking after Friday’s hearing, Mr Malkinson said: “I am content that the right result has finally been achieved for the victim, myself and the public. But the truth is that if the police had acted as they should have done, Paul Quinn could have been caught a long time ago.

“Instead, they wanted a quick conviction and I was a handy patsy forced to spend over 17 years in prison for his horrific crime. All those responsible for allowing this dangerous man to wander free whilst I was locked up must now be held to account.”

Andrew Malkinson(Image: GMP)

His lawyers were dismayed to learn that Greater Manchester Police had disposed of vital exhibits in the case, including the victim’s clothes, but were able to use samples of the exhibits held independently of the force to use in vital DNA tests to clear his name.

Quinn, a dad-of-six, only appeared on the police’s radar in 2022, after a ‘speculative’ search of the national DNA database matched a profile found on the victim’s vest top.

Back in 2007 tests revealed the presence of another DNA profile belonging to an unknown man on the item of clothing which did not belong to Mr Malkinson, but he remained in jail for another 13 years.

Quinn, aged 29 at the time of the attack in 2003, had his DNA taken in 2012 as part of a national operation to take samples from offenders who had previously committed serious offences but were not on the database.

When he was 16, Quinn had underage sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, in a crime which police said would now be categorised as rape.

He was convicted when he was 17 and given a community order.

A public inquiry has been set up to examine how ‘a most terrible miscarriage of justice’ happened, described by prosecutors at Quinn’s trial as ‘one of the worst’ that ‘there has been’ in UK history.

Paul Quinn(Image: GMP)

Malkinson was convicted at Manchester Crown Court in 2004 solely on the evidence of witness identification evidence. The victim said she was ‘100 per cent’ sure Malkinson was her attacker.

Two other witnesses – Beverley Craig and Michael Seward – who were in a car in the early hours of that morning, also said they were sure Malkinson was the man they had seen prior to the attack.

At Quinn’s trial – which began in March and was also held at Manchester Crown Court – the victim said she had actually been ‘unsure’ about the identification of her attacker at the 2004 trial and that she informed a ‘good looking’ detective, who she nicknamed ‘The Don’, of her uncertainty.

She said she was ‘reassured’ it was ‘just nerves’.

IOPC probe

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) previously said four retired GMP officers were under investigation for potential gross misconduct in connection with the case. That number is now five. Another officer, who is still serving, is being investigated for possible misconduct.

One of the former officers is also under criminal investigation for potential offences of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice.

In an update, IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “A team of highly experienced investigators continues to carefully consider Mr Malkinson’s complaints, relating to the actions of GMP during the investigation and the trial in 2004.

An image of Paul Quinn shown to the jury, said to have been taken in 2017(Image: GMP)

“This is a hugely complex and time-consuming process, in part because of the passage of time and the large amount of evidence and lines of inquiry to consider, but our work is vital to get Mr Malkinson the answers he deserves and give the public confidence that, when things go wrong like this, there will be scrutiny and lessons will be learned.

“Now that the criminal matters have concluded, we will consider how any evidence heard during the trial may affect our investigation and resume paused lines of inquiry, including approaching witnesses we believe may be able to assist us.

“We understand the impact this investigation will have for those involved and we will do everything in our power to conclude matters as soon as possible, while ensuring all of Mr Malkinson’s complaints are thoroughly investigated.”

‘We are truly sorry’

Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson apologised to Mr Malkinson in 2023 after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal.

She said in a statement: “We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson that he is the victim of such a grave miscarriage of justice, in being convicted of a crime he did not commit and serving a 17-year custodial sentence.

“Whilst we hope this outcome gives him a long overdue sense of justice, we acknowledge that it does not return the years he has lost. I have offered to meet with him to personally deliver this apology.”

Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker of GMP told reporters after the verdict: “Andrew Malkinson was imprisoned for 17 years for a crime that he didn’t commit. I cannot imagine the impact that that has had on him and his family, and for that, we are profoundly sorry for what happened to him, and we are determined that we will work closely, committed and fully supportive of the IOPC investigation, and the inquiry that is due to commence soon.”

A still from CCTV footage of Paul Quinn being questioned by police(Image: GMP)

Following Quinn’s trial, the Crown Prosecution Service was asked if it wanted to offer a similar apology.

Senior district crown prosecutor Martin Hill told reporters: “As you are aware there’s a pending public inquiry in respect of Mr Malkinson, and it’s not appropriate for me to comment on that until the outcome of that.

“That sounds obtuse, but if I can say it this way, the public inquiry started before Mr Quinn’s trial commenced. We had discussions with the inquiry to make sure that the Quinn trial remained a fair trial. Which meant they had to hold off certain lines of inquiry until the conclusion of the Quinn trial.

“I am extending the same courtesy to them that they extend to the prosecution team. I am not going to prejudge the outcome of that Malkinson inquiry, and therefore not make an apology at this stage.

“We don’t know what the findings of the inquiry are in respect of what we are held accountable for as an organisation. For that reason, I am not prejudging the outcome of that.”

Google searches

Quinn was arrested at his home in Exeter in December 2022. Police discovered that he had searched a Manchester Evening News article about the Malkinson case published in 2004, and Googled ‘wrongly convicted cases UK’, minutes after each other in 2019, the year before Malkinson’s appeal hit the headlines.

Through his internet history, it appeared that he had repeatedly been checking the homepage of the Manchester Evening News website after it was revealed that a new suspect in the case had been identified, using DNA testing.

Paul Quinn(Image: Facebook)

At his trial, he tried to explain the presence of his DNA on the victim by claiming to have led a ‘promiscuous’ lifestyle, claiming to regularly cheat on his wife and have sex with women after nights out.

Details of Quinn’s name and his link to the case could not be published until the start of his trial, on March 4, 2026, due to reporting restrictions imposed by a judge.

Malkinson declined to give evidence at Quinn’s trial.

Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Steph Parker said: “The fact that Andrew (Malkinson) was imprisoned for 17 years for a crime he didn’t commit is clearly a failing of Greater Manchester Police, and the wider criminal justice system. And for that, we are absolutely sorry.

“We are determined that this cannot happen again and we also offer our apologies to the victim, who we’ve let down.

“But I am absolutely confident – and the IOPC (Independent Office of Police Conduct) will tell you themselves – that they are determined to find answers for what went on in 2003, and equally we are supporting them with that, and we will learn from whatever findings arise from their investigation.

“There are a number of mistakes and there are a number of allegations that have been aimed at Greater Manchester Police and the wider criminal justice system over the years.

“I cannot say that there is one single element that has caused this to occur.

“We know that some of the exhibits were disposed of. We know that there were queries around the identification procedure.

“But we really need to understand how those errors occurred, and why those errors occurred, and only at that point would we be able to understand whether there is blame for the police, for anybody else, and indeed, if there is, I can assure you, we will learn from that, because we cannot let this happen again.”