Paul Sharpe, 56, from Stockport, who kidnapped a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint and sexually abused her, had previously murdered a woman he met while working as a radio presenter, the Manchester Evening News can reveal. Sharpe admitted to the latest crimes and will be sentenced in September.
Previous Murder Conviction
In October 2000, Sharpe murdered a 28-year-old mother from Bolton with whom he was in a relationship. The woman, a beauty therapy student at Bolton College, had met Sharpe after listening to his radio show on Tower FM, where he used the alias Paul Shaw. Sharpe strangled her after she threatened to end the relationship. He went on the run but handed himself in three days later, telling police he had 'flipped' after the relationship appeared to be ending.
In March 2001, Sharpe was sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court. The judge, Mr Justice Penry-Davey, told him: "You deprived her of her life and her son of his mother."
Latest Kidnapping and Abuse
Over 25 years later, Sharpe committed a similar crime. On May 18, 2026, at around 7:30 pm in Altrincham, he threatened a 15-year-old girl with a knife, put her in a headlock, and forced her into his car. Claiming her father owed him money, he drove to a Manchester Airport car park and tied her wrists and ankles with a necktie.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), over the next eight hours, Sharpe drove to various car parks, forcing the girl to drink alcohol and sexually assaulting her. Police found them at 3:40 am on May 19 in a Knutsford hotel car park after the girl's mother reported her missing and CCTV identified Sharpe's vehicle.
Arrest and Guilty Pleas
During police interview, Sharpe said 'he had been feeling bad and so he kidnapped the girl thinking it would be easier than kidnapping an adult', the CPS reported. He claimed he wasn't thinking clearly, intended to release her at daylight and take his own life, and that his motives were not sexual but he was 'aroused by smelling her feet'.
On July 3, 2026, at Minshull Street Crown Court, Sharpe pleaded guilty to kidnapping, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threatening another with a bladed article, and administering a noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy. He is due to be sentenced on September 4.
Hannah Gee, senior Crown prosecutor for the North West, said: "Paul Sharpe, a convicted murderer, kidnapped an innocent girl at knifepoint in broad daylight. In this terrifying incident, the victim was held captive for eight hours while Sharpe forced her to drink alcohol and sexually assaulted him. Sharpe gave no thought to the impact his actions, for his own depraved reasons, would have on his victim. Although his guilty pleas today have spared her from the ordeal of a trial, I would like to thank the girl, and her family, for supporting this prosecution and ensuring this dangerous offender is back where he belongs."
