Rapist's 24-year sentence an insult, says wrongly convicted Malkinson

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.

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.

Malkinson, now aged 60, failed in several appeals against his conviction in 2012 and 2020.

He was only released in 2020 after 17 years in jail, with his conviction finally quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2023.

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