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Greater Manchester Police
Paul Quinn's DNA was discovered on the woman's vest after the attack
Andrew Malkinson has said the sentence given to the rapist responsible for the attack for which he was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years is an "insult".
Paul Quinn, 52, was given a 24-year sentence for attacking a woman in the Little Hulton area of Salford in 2003, but could be eligible for parole in 14 years.
Malkinson - wrongly convicted in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history - said Quinn was a "violent, depraved individual" but had received "a softer sentence" than his life term.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard Quinn's DNA was found on the woman's vest and he had searched online to see how long police kept samples.
The victim, referred to as a "hero" by the judge, said the impact of the rape attack would "remain with me for life".
Quinn, from Exeter in Devon and formerly of Little Hulton, was also found guilty in April of strangulation and causing grievous bodily harm.
The father-of-six did not react as he was given a 24-year sentence, comprising of 21 years in prison with an extended licence period of three years.
After the sentencing hearing, Malkinson said: "I am insulted that this violent, depraved individual - who was content to let me suffer two decades of vilification and more than 17 years wrongly imprisoned for his crime - has received a softer sentence than was imposed on me, an innocent man.
"I got sentenced to life imprisonment and served more than 17 years inside.
"Throughout that time I didn't know if I would ever be released."
He added that he hoped Quinn would not get parole and would ultimately serve a longer sentence than he had.
"Anything less is not justice," he said.
PA Media
A DNA sample from the victim's vest top, only recovered and identified in 2007, was analysed and ruled out Andrew Malkinson as the attacker
The court heard Quinn, who was 29 at the time, attacked the young mother, aged in her 30s, as she walked home in the early hours of the morning on 19 July 2003.
She was brutally beaten, bitten and her cheekbone was fractured before being strangled unconscious and raped.
Malkinson, who had been working as a security guard at a local shopping centre at the time of the attack, was wrongly picked out at an identity parade.
He protested his innocence but was jailed in 2004.
Malkinson, now aged 60, failed in several appeals against his conviction in 2012 and 2020.
The victim wept in court as her lawyer read out her impact statement: "For [Quinn] it was one night of his life; for me it was one night that changed my life.
"After 20 years I now have justice but that does not change the fact that two lives have been impacted in such a way.
"I am aware that someone has had 17 years robbed as a result of this case and that stays with me.
"As for me, the impact of what happened that day has stayed with me and will remain with me for life."
She added that every day she looked at her face and saw the disfigurement and scarring that had been inflicted upon her in the attack.
"It is a permanent reminder of that night and what I experienced," she said. "I have to live with that."
GMP
Police are now investigating whether Paul Quinn is linked to other unsolved sex attacks
Addressing Quinn directly, Mr Justice Robert Bright said: "She, not you Paul Quinn, is the person from this case who I will remember for the rest of my days.
Before he passed sentence, the judge said it was obvious how "excruciating" it must have been for the victim to come back to court for a second time.
"She is a remarkable person," he added.
"You sat back and enjoyed your liberty at the expense of an innocent man.
"It's true you never did anything to implicate Mr Malkinson, however, but for you he would never have even been questioned."
The court heard Quinn was a convicted sex offender at the time of the attack.
He was cautioned in 1986 for two counts of indecent assault against a female, when he was 12 years old.
In November 1992, he was convicted of two counts of underage sex, an offence which today would be classified as rape.
Mr Justice Bright said Quinn was aged 15 or 16 and the girl was 13 at the time of the offences.
It was this offence that led to his DNA being taken by police a decade later, which ultimately linked him to the 2003 rape.
GMP
Quinn leant forward almost bent double as the foreman of the jury delivered the guilty verdicts against him
The six-week trial heard Quinn stalked his victim as she walked home, dragging her from the street and down a motorway embankment.
He was finally brought to justice after saliva found on her top was recovered years later.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it was appealing for any further potential victims of Quinn to come forward.
Senior Investigating Officer Det Ch Supt Rebecca McKendrick said: "We know this outcome has come two decades too late for those impacted by this case.
"However, we will not allow time to be a barrier to justice for anyone who has further information about Paul Quinn and any further potential sexual offending."
McKendrick added that she knew key questions must be answered by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and a judge-led inquiry about Malkinson's wrongful conviction.
"GMP stands ready to support these vital reviews," she said.
"Today brings to a close the criminal chapter to this case.
"The right man - this horrific attacker, Paul Quinn - is finally behind bars."
Fallout from the case continues, with a public inquiry now under way after a 2024 review found failings that could have exonerated Malkinson a decade before he was eventually released from prison.
Five former GMP officers, and one currently serving with the force, are under investigation by the IOPC with both the chair and chief executive of the Criminal Cases Review Commission having resigned.
