An innocent man who lost 17 years of his life to a wrongful conviction has expressed fury after the real rapist received a sentence that could see him released in just 14 years. Andrew Malkinson, now 60, was jailed for a sex attack he did not commit, while serial sex offender Paul Quinn, 52, remained free for almost two decades.
Background of the Case
Paul Quinn, a father of six, was finally brought to justice 23 years after the attack for which Malkinson was wrongly convicted. The case has been described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British criminal history. The court heard that Quinn's victim miraculously survived after he strangled her and dragged her from a street in Little Hulton, Salford, in July 2003.
Malkinson's Reaction
Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years behind bars after being sentenced to life in prison, erupted with anger when Quinn was told he would be eligible for parole in just 14 years. Malkinson stormed: "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."
He added: "Paul Quinn, who has a track record of violence and sexual offences, and who let me rot whilst he enjoyed his freedom, could now be out after just 14 years, and will certainly be out after 21 years. I hope that this man does not get parole and that he serves longer than me. Anything less is not justice."
The Sentencing
Jailing Quinn following a six-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, Mr Justice Robert Bright told the defendant: "You sat back and enjoyed your liberty at the expense of an innocent man." The judge described Quinn's victim, who twice had to endure giving evidence at a trial, as "heroic". Quinn was convicted of two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm, and attempting to choke or strangle his victim. He received a 24-year sentence, comprising 21 years custody with an extended licence of three years. However, he will be eligible for parole in 14 years – less than the term served by Malkinson.
The Attack
Quinn had stalked his victim, a woman in her 30s, before dragging her from the street down a secluded motorway embankment. He battered her, fracturing her cheekbone, and strangled her unconscious before raping her twice. He also bit her left nipple, almost severing it. Crucially, he left behind saliva on her vest top, from which his DNA was recovered years later.
Malkinson's Wrongful Conviction
Malkinson, working as a shopping centre security guard, protested his innocence but was wrongly picked out at an identity parade and jailed. The DNA sample from the vest top, only recovered in 2007, was analysed and ruled out Malkinson – a development that "ought to have set alarm bells ringing", Quinn's trial heard. However, Quinn, who had been a sex offender from the age of 12, was only arrested almost two decades later after advances in DNA testing led to a billion-to-one match in 2022.
Victim Impact
The victim sat in court weeping as a lawyer read her statement: "Every day, I look at my face and see the disfigurement, the scarring. It is a permanent reminder of that night and what I experienced. I have to live with that. For him it was one night of his life, for me it was one night that changed my life."
Aftermath and Investigations
Malkinson, now from Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, had multiple failed appeals before being released in 2020, with his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2023. He is fighting for compensation while a public inquiry is under way after a 2024 review found failings that could have exonerated him a decade earlier. Five former Greater Manchester Police officers, and one currently serving, are under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Both the chair and chief executive of the Criminal Cases Review Commission have resigned.
Greater Manchester Police has since apologised to Malkinson, describing Quinn as a "dangerous man" who went free and watched an innocent man jailed. When news broke in August 2022 that police had matched the vest top DNA to another man, Quinn began scouring the internet for updates, searching "How long is DNA kept in database?" and "Why do I keep sweating all the time?" He also searched "wrongful convictions" and became fearful of "a knock on the door". By the time of his arrest in December 2022, Quinn had divorced and moved to Exeter, Devon, working as a delivery driver.
