Convicted murderer Paul Sharpe, 56, faces a lengthy prison sentence after kidnapping a 15-year-old schoolgirl at knifepoint, holding her hostage for eight hours, and sexually assaulting her. During police interview, Sharpe claimed he abducted the girl because “it was easier to kidnap a child than an adult.”
Details of the Kidnapping and Assault
On May 19, Sharpe threatened the teenage victim with a knife, placed her in a headlock, and forced her into his car, falsely claiming her father owed him money. He then drove to a Manchester Airport car park, where he tied her wrists and ankles with a necktie. Over the next several hours, Sharpe drove to various car parks in the area, forcing the girl to drink alcohol, sexually assaulting her, and committing an indecent act while touching her feet. He later claimed he became “aroused by her feet” and that his motives were not initially sexual until that point.
The attack ended at 3:40 am when police discovered Sharpe and his victim in his car at the car park of Cottons Hotel and Spa in Knutsford, Cheshire. The girl’s mother had reported her missing, and CCTV footage helped officers identify Sharpe’s vehicle.
Guilty Plea and Previous Murder Conviction
Sharpe pleaded guilty at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court 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 scheduled to be sentenced on September 4.
This is not Sharpe’s first violent crime. In October 2000, he murdered a 28-year-old mother from Bolton with whom he was in a relationship. Sharpe, then using the alias Paul Shaw, hosted a radio show on Tower FM and had struck up a romance with the woman after she listened to his programme. He strangled her after she threatened to end the relationship. He went on the run but surrendered three days later, telling officers he had “flipped.” In March 2001, he received a life sentence at Manchester Crown Court, with the judge stating, “You deprived her of her life and her son of his mother.”
Prosecution Statement
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 her. 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.”
Location Background
Cottons Hotel and Spa, where Sharpe was apprehended, is located in Cheshire’s affluent “Golden Triangle” and is known for hosting high-profile guests, including David and Victoria Beckham during David’s Manchester United career. The hotel embodies the glamorous lifestyle depicted in the ITV drama series Footballers’ Wives, though it was not used as a filming location.
